Overtime
by SG1-Fanfic
Summary: [Complete] Carter puts in some overtime...so what’s new? Alien ‘tests’, a rescue mission, assaults on 3 Go’a’uld mother ships… and that’s just a part of the list. Angst, a little SJ UST (near the end). Warning: serious violence and whumpin
1. Missing

**OVERTIME** by SG1fanfic at hotmail.com  
  
Category: Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Drama  
  
Summary: Carter puts in some overtime…so what's new? Alien 'tests', a rescue mission, assaults on 3 Go'a'uld mother ships… and that's just a part of the list. Unavoidable whumping.  
  
Rating: PG-13 - Warnings: violence  
  
Season/spoiler: mid-season 6ish or so…although I automatically wrote with Daniel… and forgot about Jonas (apologies to Jonas fans)  
  
Status: complete  
  
Archive: Heliopolis, Gateworld.net, Fanfiction.net and whoever who wants it.  
  
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
A/N (Author's Notes): This story actually grew out of the first SG-1 fanfic that I started to write. That first one still sits unfinished… and then so did this one, for several months while my muse took me in several different directions and I wrote several other SG-1 fanfics before coming back to try and finish this one. There are many similarities with my other SG-1 story 'A Beautiful Mind'… which I was able to finish much more easily than this one here. I hope that this one is still worth reading….   
  
Second, I am going to post this story in chapters… at the request of Melbell, who stated that my story 'Nine' took to long to load all as one chapter. Hopefully, this one won't clog any servers… :)  
  
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**OVERTIME**  
  
.  
  
Finally, a chance to breath.   
  
The past week had been the busiest madhouse that Colonel Jack O'Neill remembered in SGC history. He was standing in the control room watching the cleanup activities in the gateroom.   
  
And it wasn't quite over.   
  
There were still 4 teams offworld on a combined mission with the Tokra.  
  
But today, was the first time to take stock of what had happened over the past week. What were their victories…and their losses? How many people did they lose? What did they gain? O'Neill wasn't even sure where the other members of SG-1 were right at this moment. They had been separated as events had unfolded over the past week. He had seen Teal'c earlier this morning in the commissary. Daniel had been at one of the debriefings held yesterday. Carter… Where was Carter? He was worried about her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her – not since SG-1's mission right before they were all caught up in everything that happened as soon as they returned.  
  
He shook his head a little trying to clear it. He hadn't had much sleep over the past week. Taking a deep breath, he realized that he should schedule an SG-1 meeting for the morning so that they could all touch bases and share what had happened from their own perspectives of the past week. And, after scheduling that meeting, he was headed to bed for some serious rack time.  
  
==========================  
  
-_Briefing Room, 8am, the next morning_-  
  
"Daniel, Teal'c, any ideas where Carter is?" Jack inquired before the two men had found seats or coffee. Sergeant Greval had informed him that he had left messages for her in her lab and with several staff members that typically worked with her inside the complex.  
  
"I have not seen MajorCarter since our mission to P4X-653, O'Neill," Teal'c replied.  
  
"I stopped by her quarters and her lab on the way to breakfast this morning and I couldn't find her anywhere, Jack," Daniel responded, and the continued, "I haven't seen her all week…"  
  
They all knew that the SGC had lost personnel over the events of the past week. A complete list of the missing and the dead was still being compiled. O'Neill went over to a phone on the wall and dialed the infirmary.  
  
"This is Colonel O'Neill," he spoke calmly, "I need to speak with Dr. Frasier," there was a pause for a few moments and then he continued, "Doctor, is Major Carter down there anywhere?" On hearing the response, he shook his head negatively to let Teal'c and Daniel know what the doctor had said. "When was the last time that you saw Carter?" Another pause while the doctor replied. "Allright, thanks Doc, and I would appreciate it if you do see her, please have her get in touch with me ASAP. Thanks."   
  
Hanging up the phone, he turned to the other two men in the room. "Carter is not currently in the infirmary and Frasier has not seen her in at least a week. The Doc is going to go through the infirmary records to see if she may have stopped by for anything when Frasier was not around."  
  
Turning back to the phone, O'Neill requested that the current list of MIA's and KIA's be brought to him immediately. Next, he asked that Major Carter be paged over the SGC intercom.  
  
_"Major Carter, report to the briefing room. Major Carter, report to the briefing room,"_ was coming over the intercom as a sergeant brought in the current list of MIA's and KIA's.  
  
"The list is not complete, sir," the sergeant told the Colonel as Jack quickly scanned the list, "and many of these still need to be confirmed."  
  
"Thank you, Sergeant," he replied. "Please keep me updated hourly on the list and the status of your certainty of each name listed."  
  
"Yes, Sir," the sergeant replied and then he saluted and left.  
  
"Carter is not on that list, at least," he shared with Teal'c and Daniel.  
  
"So, where is she, Jack?" Daniel asked, his tone of voice revealing his worry.  
  
"I don't know, Daniel. The last time that I remember seeing her is when we came back from that last SG-1 mission…and then it just seemed like all hell broke loose. I've had so little sleep, events piled on top of each other, merged together, overlapped… When was the last time that either of you saw her?" he asked.  
  
Teal'c responded first, "I remember that just after we exited the Stargate from 653, you were met by the General and a few other officers while MajorCarter was pulled aside by two of the gate technicians. After that, we too, were swept up by the events that transpired. I went on 2 missions with other teams and only saw yourself and DanielJackson in passing over the next week. I do not recall seeing MajorCarter since she was talking to the gate technicians last week."  
  
"OK, how about you, Daniel?" Jack prompted.  
  
Daniel blew out his breath as he thought it through. "I'm afraid I don't remember seeing her since then either, Jack. I was offworld at the Beta Site helping out for most of the week."  
  
Jack considered the lack of information available and then, he asked to be connected to the General's office. "Hello, General? This is O'Neill. Sir, do you know where Major Carter is?" After a pause while the General answered, he continued, "I was hoping that you might be able to tell us if she had been tasked to one of the offworld sites or to one of the missions over the past week?" Another pause as the General responded. "Yes sir, thank you, sir. We'll check into it and let you know what we find out." Hanging the phone back on the wall, he turned back to Teal'c and Daniel.  
  
"The General has also not seen her all week. He had asked for her several times over the past week, however, when she did not appear, he simply figured that she had been tasked by myself or some other team leader to work on one of the offsite missions… I was operating under the same assumptions. I figured that she'd been yanked offsite to help save the universe from death by exploding Stargate or some such," Jack paused. "I just figured that she was OK, because I never heard anything to even slightly indicate otherwise. But the past week…," and he sighed as he ran some of the events through his mind again.  
  
"O'Neill, Doctor Frasier should have at least one entry for MajorCarter at the end of our mission to 653. Even if Doctor Frasier did not tend to her injuries, then some other doctor would have," Teal'c stated. "Perhaps we should find out what we can from that doctor and perhaps that will shed some light as to where she went next?"  
  
"Whoa….Teal'c buddy," Jack interjected, "What injuries from the mission to 653? No one said anything abut injuries…?"  
  
"Yeah, Teal'c," Daniel added, "What are you talking about?"  
  
==========================  
  
**P4X-653  
**  
The people of 653 were an odd mix of seemingly archaic religions and beliefs, mixed with technology as advanced as Earth, and in some cases, perhaps a little more advanced. The planet had been visited twice before by SGC teams and brief introductions had been made between their people and those of Earth. Preliminary SGC analyses indicated that treaties and trade agreements with the people of 653 would be mutually beneficial. However, the people of 653, informed the first few SGC teams that the people of Earth must send representatives that must pass some tests before any such treaties or trade agreements were entered into. These were ancient tests that had been applied throughout the ages on 653 – whenever separate nations or peoples decided to work interdependently.  
  
SG-1 was sent to see if they could pass these 'tests'. There was no information available as to what kind of tests they were…physical, mental, etc. The only data they had was that the tests should only take a day or two.  
  
SG-1 was met by a large group of elders and religious leaders. The gate was 6 miles from the nearest town, and their culture and religion required that all who approached the gate must do so by foot. So, the entire entourage walked the 6 miles to town while chatting about non-treaty related topics. The members of SG-1 were separated from each other and each surrounded by different groups as they made their way to town.  
  
Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson were taken to a room in the main administrative building while Major Carter and Teal'c were escorted to the temple across town. After the tests were completed, SG-1 was escorted the 6 miles back to the Stargate. The magistrate informed them that they would assemble all of the test results and evaluations and then they would let the people of Earth know if trade and treaties were to begin between their two peoples.  
  
=======================  
  
Playing it back through his mind, O'Neill realized that they hadn't heard back from the people of 653 yet. But that could be because the SGC gate had been so busy over the past week, that the people of 653 might not have been able to get through. Or it was possible that they had 'called' and left the results of the tests, but that information may just be waiting in a queue of information in his inbox.  
  
O'Neill also realized that he'd never gotten a chance to find out what tests Teal'c and Carter had been given….  
  
"Daniel and I were given a puzzle," he stated for Teal'c. "They related a story of an ancient battle and they had a 3-D hologram of information regarding troop locations, supplies, objectives, etc. We had to figure out how to end the war with the least casualties without surrendering land, property or people. I think we did pretty well. Between the two of us, we balanced strategy with logistics – and Danny kept it all as humane as possible."  
  
"I agree, I think we did pretty well, but it's difficult to gauge what other cultures value as important," Daniel added. "What did you and Sam have to do?"  
  
"MajorCarter and I were given separate tests," Teal'c replied. "Mine was a test of stamina. I was asked to hold several logs off the ground for as long as I could. I was able to hold them aloft for approximately an hour and a half. They gave me no indication if this was sufficient or not."  
  
"After I had placed my logs back on the ground, I was taken across the temple to a large, highly decorated room. Hundreds of people were arrayed in seats and rows around a central stage. In the center of the room, on an elevated platform, was a frame-structure, slightly larger than a regular-sized door. MajorCarter's arms were tied to the top of either side of the frame. When I inquired as to what was happening, they told me that her test was one of fortitude. They had removed her jacket and she was attired only in her black T-shirt and trousers."  
  
"Teal's why didn't you tell them to stop?" Jack demanded angrily.   
Daniel just looked horrified.  
  
"O'Neill, I did ask and I was informed that once the tests are agreed to, their customs do not allow those being tested to 'back-out'," Teal'c said softly. "Apparently as soon as we had agreed earlier in the day, then we became committed. I have no doubt that MajorCarter would have also protested at this treatment. I do not believe that she would calmly allow herself to be whipped."  
  
"Whipped…?" Daniel repeated in disbelief.  
  
"Actually, the weapon used was a whip at the end of a stick, or cane. And they used both ends over the next 15 minutes or so. O'Neill, I was allowed to watch, but from inside a forcefield. I could not get to her, nor could I stop the proceedings. MajorCarter stayed conscious during the entire length of the beating, " Teal'c paused, taking in the expressions of horror on his teammates faces.   
  
"The spectators did not appear bloodthirsty. There were no cheers or catcalls. This was not a punishment, but rather it appeared to be considered an honor."   
  
"What…?!" Jack blurted out with a look of outrage.  
  
"I do not wish to justify their actions in any way O'Neill. I am just trying to relate my observations," Teal'c replied.  
  
"This is barbaric!" O'Neill spit out. Daniel was just looking sick.  
  
"When they finished, they cut her down and laid her facedown on a nearby plinth. A religious leader began a lengthy speech while I was allowed out of my forcefield cell and then led over to her side. They provided water and cloths so that I could try and wash the wounds while the religious oratory continued. She was in great pain, O'Neill, but she stayed conscious and yet did not make a sound."  
  
"After 30 minutes or so, the oratory concluded, and we were presented with the rest of our equipment and informed that we would be walking back to the Stargate immediately. We were told that the tests and evaluations would not be concluded until we had arrived back at the Stargate. I helped MajorCarter get her jacket and gun back on. When I offered to take her pack, they informed me that she must take her own. She did not argue and I felt that I could not make that decision for her."  
  
"They then led us over to where we met you and DanielJackson and we walked back to the Stargate. I believe that they were very careful to keep us separated from each other. Each of us appeared to be surrounded by a group that continued the testing and evaluation during the entire hike back to the gate."  
  
"Teal'c…," Jack was staring at him, "Are you telling me that Carter walked 6 miles in full gear, with a full pack on a back that had just been beaten and -_flayed_-?"  
  
"Yes, O'Neill," Teal'c replied quietly.  
  
"You should have told me," and his voice was deep with anger.  
  
"O'Neill what would that have accomplished? The damage was already done. And MajorCarter knew that. If either of us had pushed through to you and told you what had happened, what could you have done? You are not a doctor. You could not heal the bruises or cuts."  
  
"We could have insisted that she not carry a pack. And we could have told those people to go stuff themselves!" his voice was climbing in volume.  
  
"Exactly, Jack," Daniel finally spoke up shakily. "Sam knew how you'd respond. And she knew that she was still going to have to walk out. She knew that no one was going to be able to treat her injuries until she got back through the gate…," and his voice trailed off…and then he spoke so low, that the other two could barely hear him. "But, sweet Jesus…. we had no idea…and we just walked along talking about this and that….she must have been in so much…," Daniel looked like he was going to throw up.  
  
"MajorCarter comported herself in a manner that surpasses that of most Jaffa. I watched her when the mix of people allowed me views of her and she allowed no outward signs of the pain that she was in," Teal'c added.  
  
"Aahhh," Jack interjected, "And then we spent at least a half hour standing around in front of the gate while everyone exchanged formalities – and the magistrate made another speech!"  
  
"I probably made that a lot longer than it needed to be, Jack," Daniel added. "I had no idea that Sam was standing there in pain."  
  
"Indeed, I watched MajorCarter while we waited for the formalities to conclude. If I had not known her condition, I do not believe that I would have suspected. You should not blame yourself." Teal'c tried to relieve them of some of their guilt.  
  
"I should have known," Jack muttered. "I should have seen it, for God's sake!"  
  
"O'Neill, if all had gone as normal when we exited into the gateroom, you would have known fairly quickly as either MajorCarter or myself would have told you what had happened. Unfortunately, there were other emergencies waiting in the gateroom for your attention." Teal'c paused again briefly as he remembered the sequence of events. "MajorCarter immediately began to take off her pack and I gave her a hand. While we were placing her pack and her gun on the ramp, two gate technicians came over with something urgent that they needed her to look at. She assured me that she would follow us in a few moments. As you were speaking with the General and a few other officers, DanielJackson and I were escorted through our standard post-mission routine."  
  
"When we did not see MajorCarter during our post-mission checkups, I attempted to return to check the gateroom and the control room, however, I was diverted to join the hasty preparation for the mission to P9R-482. We left an hour later and I did not see MajorCarter in the gateroom or the control room before we left. Knowing what her injuries were, however, I believed that she must have made her way to the infirmary while I was occupied with the pre-mission briefing," Teal'c finished.  
  
"Jack, maybe they just sent her home after they treated her back. She might not even know what has happened here over the past week," Daniel offered hopefully. No one had thought to call her home and see if she was there… With what had transpired over the past week, no one had imagined that Carter hadn't been running around like the rest of them.  
  
With a little hope now, Jack went back to the phone and asked for the operator to ring Carter's home phone. The phone rang 4 times and then her message machine picked up. He left a message for her to call him at the SGC – and if she called and had to leave a message, then he directed her to also call Daniel. He ended by letting her know that they were just worried about her since they hadn't heard from her in a week.  
  
"OK, here's what we're going to do. I have to orchestrate the cleanup and debriefings for the events of the past week. How about if you and Teal'c go and figure out what happened to Carter? Drive over to her house and see if she's there," he directed. "And when you track her down, tell her to get her butt back here ASAP." He couched it all in gruff, sarcastic terms, but Daniel and Teal'c knew that he was very worried.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 1 ====o0o====  
  
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	2. Wet Rescue

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_"OK, here's what we're going to do. I have to orchestrate the cleanup and debriefings for the events of the past week. How about if you and Teal'c go and figure out what happened to Carter? Drive over to her house and see if she's there," he directed. "And when you track her down, tell her to get her butt back here ASAP." He couched it all in gruff, sarcastic terms, but Daniel and Teal'c knew that he was very worried.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 1 ====o0o====_  
  
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**PART 2: SG-8 and SG-14**  
  
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Daniel and Teal'c drove out to her house and received no answer to their knocks. Daniel then pulled out the spare key that he had for her house and he and Teal'c went inside to see if they could figure out what was going on or where she was. Inside they found nothing to indicate that anyone had been home in many, many days. It seemed likely that Sam had not been home all week. Discouraged, they drove back to the SGC.  
  
Back at the SGC, General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill were discovering that the events of the past week were not going to be easily deciphered. Too many things had overlapped and/or occurred simultaneously. The attacks on their allies of P9X-385, the influx of refugees from P5X-376, the Tokra and Tollan calling with their own emergencies and the impromptu allied missions against the Go'a'uld on 3 different worlds, combined with at least 5 rescue missions on different planets.   
  
Hammond sighed…Carter could have gone to assist with any of them. So much had been going on simultaneously…Hammond knew that standard protocols had been lost for the sake of expediency – and in the hopes of saving lives.  
  
Ultimately, the General realized that the standard approach of debriefings and waiting for the information to assemble itself was not going to work for this mess. Hammond assembled a team of technicians, gateroom personnel and SGC COs that were available.  
  
"Folks, we need to reconstruct the past week. We ran at such a high speed, …at such a frantic pace, that we now have some major work to just figure out what we all did. I need you to construct a timeline of events on this board," and Hammond gestured to a large whiteboard that stood on one side of the room. Already drawn on the board was a long, horizontal line that ran the length of the board. Hour and day markers were measured along the length of the line.   
  
"You need to assemble all of the events, comings and goings of SGC personnel through the gate, departure and arrivals of SGC missions and teams, arrivals and departures of the refugees, the Tokra, the Tollan – and anyone else who came or went through that gate over the past week." Hammond watched their faces as they realized the enormity of the task. During normal times, this was all recorded calmly and sequentially by clerks and technicians. The past week, however, had not been normal.  
  
"Folks, right now, we don't even know who didn't make it back. We….we've lost a few people, and we don't know if they are truly lost, or if they died in the pursuit of their duty," he continued solemnly and then he saw Doctor Jackson and Teal'c enter the back of the room quietly. Jackson gave him a slight shake of his head to let him know that they had not found her at home.   
  
"As you all know, Major Carter is a member of SG-1. What you may not know is that Major Carter is one of those who is missing right now. While Colonel O'Neill will be overseeing this overall project, Doctor Jackson and Teal'c," and the General gestured at the two men at the back of the room, "will be around to collect information from each of you to see if we can figure out where she is now."  
  
Colonel O'Neill then broke them into smaller groups with specific tasks. One group was tasked to acquire all gateroom tapes for the past week and to start speed-scanning them for arrivals and departures – noting who came and went at what times. A group of computer technicians were tasked with going through the computer logs for gate addresses dialed and connected to over the past week. A third group was tasked with assembling equipment/armory logs of materials checked out and checked back in. A fourth group was tasked with going through and assembling the infirmary records and timeline. Another group was tasked with unraveling the timeline of events at the Beta Site – and to get the logs and any videos available at any of the Beta Site buildings. Several teams of personnel were assembled to interview SGC personnel – those who had gone on missions and those who had stayed behind and supported in the gateroom, the control room, etc. O'Neill got them all started and then went to find the group that was reviewing the gateroom tapes. He wanted to see where Carter went after talking to those 2 gate technicians….!  
  
==================  
  
Thirty minutes later, there it was.   
  
The whole tableau laid out on the screen just as he and Danny and Teal'c had remembered it.   
  
SG-1 exited through the gate. Carter and Teal'c lagged behind near the top of the ramp while he had gone directly to the waiting General and other officers at the bottom of the ramp. Daniel followed behind him at a slightly slower pace.   
  
Jack watched as Teal'c helped Carter with her pack and then the 2 technicians came over and she stepped to the side to look at the clipboard that they were waving in front of her as they talked rapidly. Teal'c spoke with her briefly and Jack could see that she reassured the Jaffa of something and waved for him to go. He nodded respectfully and then Teal'c's attention was diverted as Daniel hailed him from the bottom of the ramp where there were personnel waiting to take them through the post-mission routine. Teal'c took one more look at her and then headed down the ramp to follow Daniel. Jack also saw himself, the General and other ranking officers were exiting the gateroom slightly ahead of Teal'c and Daniel.   
  
Back at the top of the ramp, Carter finished consulting with the two technicians and they scurried down the ramp to do whatever techie-things delighted them. She then scanned the gateroom, noting that the rest of her team had left and then looked down at her pack and rifle. Looking at her face, Jack could now see what he didn't see earlier. Now she looked tired - and sick. Now that she didn't have to hold it in or hide it anymore, he could see some of what had happened.   
  
She leaned against the railing and he could see her take a long slow breath and she took a moment to look back at the Stargate. As she turned to look at the gate, he couldn't help but look at the portion of her back that turned towards the camera. She was wearing her jacket, so the cuts and bruises would not be visible, but he couldn't help looking anyway. He could, however, see several dark stains on the back of her jacket. Blood that had soaked through, no doubt. Aaaaggghh! How had this happened? The infirmary -_had_- to have some kind of record of this. She must have had it treated.  
  
Next, he saw her reach down, slowly, and pick up her pack and rifle. She actually looked like she'd rather just kick it down the ramp or leave it there… but she picked it up and slowly walked down the ramp.   
  
When she reached the bottom of the ramp, SG-8 came flying in the door. He could see the Stargate spinning up as Carter spoke to Colonel O'Keefe, the CO of SG-8. Behind them, the young Captain of SG-8 vomited and then collapsed on the gateroom floor. Teammates of the stricken member knelt by his side. Meanwhile, the gate flushed sideways as the wormhole was established and the blue watery effect created a backdrop for the tableau of SGC personnel.   
  
Carter and O'Keefe were watching the stricken member as he was tended to by his teammates. They pulled his pack and rifle off and straightened him out. Jack could see that the young man was still conscious, although obviously in great distress. O'Keefe began talking quickly to Carter and when she responded it was obvious that she was disagreeing with whatever he was saying.  
  
Jack could see O'Keefe's frustration at Carter's responses and then he had no problem deciphering the man's demeanor. He turned on the 'I am your superior officer and I am giving you an order, Major!'   
  
Carter tried another response that was met by another sharp reply, and then O'Keefe signaled for her and the rest of his team to follow him. O'Keefe turned and headed up the ramp with the other 2 able-bodied members of his team, while she stood there with a look of disbelief on her face as medics were tending to the stricken man at her feet.  
  
As O'Keefe reached the top of the ramp, he sent one more command in the Major's direction and then headed into the wormhole with his teammates right behind him. Carter shook her head and then moved smartly up the ramp getting her pack into position as she went and then quickly stepped through the gate.  
  
==========================  
  
Jack froze the tape with Carter half-though and he leaned back in his chair and thought back to the moments right after he'd left the gateroom with the General and the other officers. He'd had to leave the group for a few minutes while he took his weapons and equipment to the armory. While turning his equipment in, O'Keefe and his men had been there checking theirs out.   
  
"Hey there O'Neill, how did it go? Another SG-1 miracle survival? Oh, wait, there's no blood on you…you're walking upright…and all of your clothes are still intact….wow, did you actually forget to go offworld?" O'Keefe had ribbed him, and his teammates were smiling with the enjoyment of watching their Colonel rib the famous Colonel O'Neill.  
  
Jack responded as he always would, "Just another mission… you know, we came, we met the natives, they ran us through some tests, we impressed them, we made lasting peace between our peoples. All in all a milk run… no stress, no muss, no fuss. At least until they send you over there to screw it up O'Keefe!" he finished with a smirk.  
  
O'Keefe shook his head and gave Jack a look that he wasn't buying the 'saved the world again' line.   
  
"Where are you headed off to O'Keefe?" he inquired as they checked in the armament that he had carried in his vest.  
  
"Rescue mission – SG-14 got itself into a spot of trouble and we're headed out to bring them back. At least one of them is hurt apparently, so we'll be carrying at least one of them back out. We're double-timing it to see if we can get to them and get back while it's still light on that planet. So, O'Neill, as great as it is to chat with you, we're outta here. See you in a day or two. Don't strain yourself getting too much sleep while we are out humping the miles for your brethren." And with that, O'Keefe and his men had finished checking over their weapons and he watched them hotfoot it to the gateroom.  
  
Jack had then made his way quickly to the briefing room where the General and other officers were quickly trying to come up with solutions for the sudden influx of refugees that might be coming through any minute, along with deciding if the SGC was going to try and take advantage of some sudden opportunities to put some major hurt on several Go'a'uld.  
  
Looking back at the image of Carter frozen in mid-motion as she stepped through the gate, Jack spoke to the screen, "Well, now we know where you went next. What happened after you got there?"   
  
.

There was no answer from the quiet, frozen image.  
  
.  
  
==========================  
  
Daniel and Teal'c tracked Jack down in the main briefing room.   
  
"Jack, there is no evidence that she ever made it to the infirmary," Daniel reported in a low tone.  
  
"I know Daniel," he surprised them. "I got to see the gateroom tapes and it looks like O'Keefe drafted her on the spot to assist SG-8 with a hurry-up rescue mission. One of their men got sick right on the departure ramp… and Carter hadn't gotten out of the gateroom yet."  
  
"But, Jack," Daniel returned, "She was injured, there's no way she should have gone back out!"  
  
"Yeah, I agree, Daniel, but no one knew, remember? I watched the tape and it looks like it all happened so fast, that Carter wasn't given time to properly explain and they didn't have time to hunt down someone else for a replacement. She could have flatly refused, or just not followed them, but she's not built that way, you know? Her own sense of responsibility and duty wouldn't let her walk away, not from a direct order, nor from the possibility that she could help with a rescue that she'd been ordered to assist with." Jack explained it to Daniel, although he knew that Daniel would always have trouble accepting the military mindset.   
  
"We need to track down O'Keefe and the rest of SG-8 and find out what happened on their mission and when they last saw Carter," Jack continued.  
  
Daniel didn't say anything and Teal'c nodded his head in acknowledgement.  
  
==========================  
  
An hour later and O'Keefe was on his way to meet with O'Neill.   
Daniel and Teal'c were speaking with the other members of SG-8.  
  
"Jack, how's the administrative side working out for you?" O'Keefe started off.  
  
"Peachy, Peter, just Peachy." he replied.  
  
"So, I guess you want to talk about Major Carter, right?" O'Keefe ventured.  
  
"You got that right. We know that she left with you on the rescue mission for SG-14. What happened?" he asked.  
  
"Jack, I want to assure you that Carter was OK when I last saw her…oh, I guess it would be 5 or 6 days ago or so, now. She completed the mission with us, we gated to the Beta Site and that was the last time that I saw her," O'Keefe stated apologetically.  
  
O'Neill turned to the Corporal who was taking notes, "Corporal, find the folks who are working on the Beta Site records. Have them check all gate transits, infirmary records, etc., for any indications of Major Carter's movements 5-6 days ago."  
  
"Yes, sir," the Corporal replied and exited quickly.  
  
"Allright, Peter, how about if you take me through how Carter ended up with you and SG-8 and then take me through the basics of the rescue mission," O'Neill directed.  
  
"Sure, Jack," O'Keefe responded. "Right after speaking with you at the armory, we get to the gateroom and Captain Henderson collapses from some sort of acute intestinal distress. Vomited all over the floor and his face was flushed, clammy and red. Kid looked like he wanted to die right there. Turns out he had some kind of bowel obstruction – they actually had to operate later that day – but we didn't learn all of that until we got back from the mission."  
  
"With Henderson down, and Carter standing on the ramp with a full kit… and you had just said that your mission had been a milk run, so I told her to join up with us to replace Henderson for the rescue mission. I have to say, Jack, I was pretty surprised when she didn't jump right in to help. She actually told me that she had been injured on your last mission and that she really should speak with you before joining us." O'Keefe was shaking his head in disappointment.  
  
"I have to admit it, I was not expecting that reply. You know, Jack…I didn't think that you would tolerate that kind of attitude from one of your officers. I don't know how you've handled trying to lead two scientists and one alien Jaffa." O'Keefe waited for some feedback.  
  
Jack was quiet for a moment and he nodded his head in acknowledgement of O'Keefe's perceptions. "First, Major Carter is one of the finest officers that I have ever served with – in fact, she is the best 2IC that I've ever had. Normally, I think you would have had trouble -_keeping_- her from going with you….but, she -_was_- injured…"  
  
"But, you…," O'Keefe reacted quickly.  
  
"Yeah, I know what I said. The problem was that I didn't know that Carter was injured. You know - 'stiff upper lip' and all that crap," he paused. "Here, I'll let you read Teal'c's account of what happened," and he passed the papers across the table and leaned back to wait a few minutes while O'Keefe digested the report.   
  
A few minutes later and O'Keefe looked up apologetically. "Jesus, Jack, I had no idea. I…she said…., Jack, I screwed up – she told me something was wrong, and I didn't listen. Jack, I…I got a bit angry and dictatorial after that. I told her to come-with, period."  
  
"Yeah, I figured, Pete, it's all on the video tape. And, we can see Carter following your team," he gestured to the screen with the frozen image of her going through the event horizon. "So, what happened next? How did the mission go?"  
  
"We…,"and O'Keefe looked down at the pages of Teal'c's report and blanched, "we had to hike for several hours to reach SG-14's position. One of them was there to meet us at the gate and to lead us back to their injured teammates," and O'Keefe paused and took a breath and let it out. "It was a miserable hike, Jack… around 3 miles, uphill, cross-country, no trail, and it started raining and it came down in buckets. Because the clouds were cutting down on the light, we knew it was going to get dark earlier than we'd anticipated, so we double-timed up the mountain…" O'Keefe was looking pretty sick now as he realized that Carter had hiked all of that without any complaints, or without holding the group back.  
  
Jack wanted to sympathize with him…hell, Jack hadn't known she was injured either….but he also wanted to reach across the table and put a fist in O'Keefe's face for making her go on the mission at all. Gruffly, he asked, "Ok, so what happened next?"  
  
"SG-14 had been caught in a rockslide. One of them was hanging on a ledge partway down the cliff and the other was another 50 feet or further down. We had to rig up some belays and send people down to them to set up the rescue baskets and to get them into them. It took us about 3 hours in the driving rain, but we got them up," O'Keefe related. "Jack, Carter never complained – not once. She held belays just like everyone else – with the ropes feeding around… her back..."  
  
Jack just nodded. "Pete, I know what kind of soldier she is," he said quietly and signaled for him to continue.  
  
"Next, we had to get them all back to the gate. We didn't beat nightfall. The first half of the hike out was in dwindling light and the last half was in pitch black. The rain never let up. The two who had slid down the cliff with the rockfall were in bad shape. One of them had a broken leg and a concussion. The other had broken ribs, a broken ankle and a broken arm. They were also hypothermic and in the first stages of shock. The two ambulatory members of SG-14 were also injured, although they could walk. That left the four of us – SG-8 and Major Carter – to carry the rescue baskets for the 2 members of SG-14 who could not walk."  
  
"When we got to the gate, we tried dialing Earth, but after several failed attempts at connection, Carter recommended that we try the Beta Site. We connected with them immediately and we took SG-14 to their infirmary. They brought us up to speed on what they knew of what was happening here on Earth and why we probably couldn't get through."  
  
O'Keefe paused and took another slow breath and then looked at the image of Carter frozen on the screen. "I'm sorry, Jack. After we dropped the injured members of SG-14 in the Beta Site infirmary, it didn't occur to me to wonder where Carter went. I just figured that she was off getting some sleep, or off working on the gate, or some such. I don't remember seeing her again."  
  
Just then, there was a knock on the door and Daniel popped his head in. "Hi, Jack, we're finished downstairs, want us to come back later?"  
  
"No, it's allright, Daniel, Teal'c, come on in," he replied and waved them towards some empty chairs.  
  
"What did you find out?" he asked them.  
  
"Well, it looks like no one caught onto Sam's injuries. She didn't say anything to anyone once they arrived on the planet," Daniel related and Teal'c nodded in agreement.  
  
And then there were a few more knocks on the door and the Corporal had returned. "Sir, here are some gate and infirmary records from the Beta Site from the time frame that you requested. And, sir, Major Carter is mentioned. The Beta Site task group then scanned the infirmary video records for the narrowed-down time frame. These 3 tapes are what they think you might want to see," he finished while handing O'Neill a stack of papers, folders and video tapes.  
  
"Allright, let's take a look at the tapes first," Jack suggested, and he stopped the other tape and ejected it and then inserted the first of the 3 tapes that the Corporal had brought.   
  
This tape showed the arrival of SG-8 and Carter as they helped carry the injured members of SG-14 into the Beta Site infirmary. As medical personnel swarmed over and around the injured SGC team, SG-8 and Carter moved out of the way.   
  
Jack inspected her appearance. She was soaking wet and bedraggled…but so were the members of SG-8. The stains on her jacket no longer stood out on the wet, dark material.  
  
After another few minutes, a couple of nurses were seen shooing SG-8 and Carter out of the infirmary. "At this point," O'Keefe narrated, "we were asked to leave so that they could get their work done. Same old, same old, from the nurses and docs. We headed off to get some sleep and some chow and some dry clothes. At least, SG-8 did…"  
  
The Corporal fast forwarded the tape, "This is about 20 minutes later, sirs."  
  
She could be seen re-entering the infirmary. She stood quietly to the side as the medical personnel continued to work on SG-14's injuries. After a few minutes, she silently moved around to the back of the infirmary and sat down on a free cot at the end of a row. Out of the way, she sat for a few minutes longer, watching the doctors and nurses as they moved from patient to patient. She then shook her head as if to clear it a bit and then she laid face down and appeared to go to sleep.  
  
"She apparently slept undisturbed for an hour or so," the Corporal fast forwarded over the next hour of tape and then he stopped the tape and they could see a nurse approaching Carter's cot. "One of the nurses apparently noticed the Major after they had finished up dealing with most of the injuries from SG-14. At first, it looks like the nurse is just going to let the Major get some sleep, but then she seems to decide to speak to the Major." The nurse approached Carter's sleeping form and gently shook her shoulder. When she did not respond, the nurse shook her again, and the video showed that the nurse was also trying to speak to her. After getting no response, the nurse put her fingers on the Major's neck to check her pulse, and then she quickly departed and returned seconds later with a doctor and another nurse.  
  
After quickly confirming the Major's non-responsiveness, they began assessing her condition and it was obvious when they discovered the injuries to her back because the flurry of movements and medical personnel entering and leaving the frame became difficult to follow. A privacy screen was pulled around her cot and the only visible movement was when someone entered or left the area.  
  
"Sir, these folders include the doctor's charts and records of the Major's injuries and the treatment. And, sir…," the Corporal continued, "sir…there are photos….," he finished apologetically.  
  
Photos. Jack knew he didn't really want to see them, but he knew that he had to read the report and he had to know the extent of her injuries. Pulling open the folder with Carter's name on it, the photos slid down and almost out onto the table. Holding his breath, he brought the pictures up and straightened them out.   
  
At first, he couldn't even figure out quite what he was looking at – and, then he saw it. Her back was a morass of welts, bruises and bloody cuts with frayed black T-shirt fabric collaged over it all. If anything it was worse than he had thought. The cuts were red, inflamed and infected. He couldn't imagine how they would get all that T-shirt fabric out of the wounds.   
  
As there were several photos, he flipped through the rest. The last 2 photos showed the wounds after they had been cleaned. Her back looked a lot better without the black mashed T-shirt smeared into the wounds, but now her back was a clear expanse of red, angry cuts and stitches - with purple, yellow and green mottling of overlapping bruises. His stomach turned over as he thought of the pain that she had gone through over that 24 hours or so.  
  
"Jack….?" Daniel asked quietly.  
  
He turned his eyes of pain to Daniel and Teal'c, "I don't think that you want to see this Daniel."  
  
"Jack, we are a team. I know that you are sitting there blaming yourself for what happened, but we all feel responsible. And we have to know. I have to know," Daniel stated firmly.  
  
Reluctantly, O'Neill handed the photos over to Daniel and watched as Daniel's face paled to a dangerous shade of white. Even Teal'c looked greatly disturbed – and he had seen her injuries while in the temple.   
  
"Oh, Shit!" O'Keefe blurted out and the man looked devastated.  
  
Daniel handed the photos back to Jack and shakily got up and left the room.   
Probably to throw up, thought Jack.  
  
"Yeah, shit is right, O'Keefe," he muttered. Jack made himself focus on the doctor's chart and written comments. "It says here that they put in 37 stitches and put her on morphine and antibiotics. They planned to keep her sedated for a day or two and then ship her back to the SGC where the doctor's prognosis was that she should stay in the infirmary for several days and then probably be able to outpatient the rest of her treatment and recovery."  
  
"They changed the dressings and bandages on her back and re-inspected the wounds after approximately 24 hours," he muttered as he scanned through the patient chart. "They continued the antibiotics and some pain meds…," he recognized the names of the medications from many of his infirmary visits.  
  
"However, there is another notation at the end here that states that 8 hours after they changed her bandages, Carter was gone and none of the medical personnel saw her leave, nor do they know where she went or why," his voice continued in disbelief.  
  
"Sir, we have more on another tape…that may help explain what happened next." The Corporal ejected the tape that they were watching and put in the next one that he had brought. Fast-forwarding, he stopped and the video showed a Carter who appeared to be at least semi-awake. A young Captain was seen entering the infirmary. The Captain was obviously surprised and excited to see Major Carter. After talking briefly to her, the Captain hurried out and returned a few minutes later with what looked like a bundle of clothes and handed them to her. The Captain then left and she sat up slowly and then simply sat there for a few minutes in the dim lighting of the nighttime infirmary. She then pulled the privacy screen back around and a few minutes later reappeared in the fresh set of clothes.   
  
She examined the small table near her cot and took a few bottles and dropped them into her shirt pocket. Next, she appeared to be looking around, and then she picked up a piece of paper and a pen. After writing something, she placed the note in the middle of her cot, took one last look around, and then exited the infirmary.  
  
"Where is she going??!" Jack barked at the screen. "What the hell do they want with her now?"  
  
"I hope that those were antibiotics and painkillers that she took with her," O'Keefe added, "She looked like the walking…," and then he trailed off as he realized that he should shut his mouth.  
  
O'Neill turned back to the corporal, "So, what is the next tape for? She didn't come back, did she?" he said it half-hopefully, but he already knew the answer.  
  
"No, sir, she didn't return to the infirmary – and the Beta Site gate logs show that she left with a group of SGC and Tokra personnel to a Tokra world," the Corporal responded. "The third tape shows what happened to the note that she wrote, sir."  
  
"Son, how about you just tell me what it shows?" he didn't want to waste his time scanning tape that didn't help him figure out what had happened to Carter.  
  
"Yes, sir. Shortly after Major Carter left the infirmary, SG-4 and SG-11 came in with some refugees and the infirmary was swamped. Several of the refugees sat on the Major's cot and no one noticed the note. We think that it was scooped up when the bedding was changed," the Corporal summarized.  
  
"Thank you, Corporal. I'd like you to now scope out the various task forces that we have working and see if any of them have any information regarding this mission that left from the Beta Site to this Tokra world," O'Neill directed the young soldier.  
  
"Yes, sir," the Corporal replied as he saluted again and left.  
  
Silence descended on the room.   
  
O'Neill's gaze traveled from the gruesome photographs to the video that was frozen as Carter exited the infirmary doors.   
  
"O'Neill, I believe that MajorCarter was talking to herself as she left the medical bay," Teal'c's even tones broke the quiet.  
  
"Yeah, and I can think of at least three things that she was muttering or cursing," Jack said in a very low, dispirited voice and he closed his eyes as it all sunk in.  
  
They still didn't know where she was or what had happened to her.  
  
How much more could there be?, he wondered.   
He wanted to scream at someone.   
He wanted to scream at her – she shouldn't have let this happen.   
_He_ shouldn't have let this happen.   
  
And there was no one at whom he could vent his anger and frustration.  
  
==========================  
  
A few hours later and Jack was assessing the timeline that was being assembled on the whiteboard in the briefing room. Arrival of the offworld representatives while SG-1 was on their mission was the first event listed. Next, was the return of SG-1 and then the departure of SG-8's rescue mission with Major Carter along. The arrival of refugees and the arrival and departure of Tokra and SG teams over the next few days was carefully noted.  
  
His eyes kept coming back to the additional, concurrent timeline that had been started along the bottom of the whiteboard.   
  
The same length and scale as the timeline across the middle of the board, the one along the bottom solely noted the movements of one SGC Major.   
  
O'Neill had not requested or even suggested this second graphic; however, everyone was involved in figuring this out now. Jack watched as all sorts of SGC personnel found reasons to wander through and keep tabs on any updates or notations. 'Doctor Major' Sam Carter worked with the physicists, the computer technicians and she was one of the fellow SGC soldiers. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to her… and the tales of her travels unraveled so far were spreading through the mountain.  
  
The General stopped by every few hours for an update. O'Neill could not hide his frustration or pain at what they had discovered so far. The General had been shocked and outraged, but he had also reminded Jack that they couldn't fight her basic character.   
  
"Jack, some people are heroes. Sam Carter was cut from the finest of those cloths."  
  
And Jack knew that he was correct.   
But that didn't make any of this any easier.  
  
==========================  
  
It was getting late into the evening and the hubbub of activity had not slowed down. The task forces all seemed to be driven to continue working without consideration for normal schedules. Around 22:30, he found himself walking the corridors to stretch his legs and to try and assimilate the data that was being assembled in the briefing room. So many simultaneous and overlapping missions and events.   
  
Looking up, he realized that his feet had taken him to her lab.   
He paused outside.   
The door stood ajar and the interior was quiet and dark.   
He could feel her presence.   
  
It was as if…, he just knew that if he stepped inside, that she would be totally engrossed in some problem on her laptop, or she would be working with some alien technology that no one else could figure out.   
  
She should be there, he thought.   
Where the hell did the universe screw up so that she wasn't there?  
  
Slowly, he stepped silently through the door. And, his eyes were not immediately drawn to the silent, still laptop… but, rather, his eyes were drawn to the small flames glowing in the corner. Surprised and startled, he realized that they were candle flames… from candles sitting on the floor in the corner of the lab.   
  
Teal'c was seated next to the candles on a small mat.  
  
"O'Neill," the Jaffa acknowledged as he nodded his head at the Colonel.  
  
"Teal'c, I didn't expect to find you here," Jack replied, "I didn't actually expect to find anyone…. Are you Kel-nor-reeming? And, isn't that easier in your quarters where there are fewer distractions?"  
  
"Yes, O'Neill, I am performing Kel-nor-reem," Teal'c replied quietly, "And, no, it is not more quiet in my quarters than it is in here."  
  
Of course it wasn't. How could there be any noise here, without Carter working in here…and no one coming to bother her… Right now, her lab was probably one of the quietest places on the base. Still, the simple quiet did not explain the presence of the reserved Jaffa. He watched his large friend quietly. The alien was never verbose and did not share his feelings often. But, his presence in her lab spoke volumes.  
  
"Teal'c, I don't want to bother you, but would you mind if I just sat over here for awhile? I'll be quiet, I promise," he asked the Jaffa.  
  
"Of course, O'Neill. You do not need to ask. I will continue Kel-nor-reem," and with that short statement, the Jaffa refocused his meditation and allowed Jack his own space in her lab.  
  
Nodding to himself, he settled into her desk chair and leaned back. Letting his eyes trail over the various pieces of equipment and tools. "I can just see...," he stated quietly, "…her working over there on some alien doohickey…completely focused on what she's thinking about…," and his voice trailed off as he lost himself in the images of his memories.   
  
He sat quietly and thought back through the past several years. The missions of SG-1. How he'd quickly come to respect and count on Carter's solid soldiering and her amazing intellect. On his other teams and missions, he'd never had patience for anyone except those who had focused black ops special training. All focused on the mission. And then he'd met Daniel Jackson. Daniel had made Jack admit that not all scientists were horrible.   
  
And then there'd been Carter. Captain Carter at the time. A military officer, but a scientist. He'd figured that she'd be another geek who'd whine in the field, be squeamish, not follow orders and just generally mess up his missions. And, he'd been wrong on all counts. She'd far surpassed anything that he could have hoped for. She followed orders (most of the time), rarely complained, and was surprisingly respectful of authority for someone as smart as she was. Waaaaaaay smarter as he remembered from their first meeting.  
  
That was one of the things that made her so special. She was not full of herself. She was brilliant, yet she could follow another's lead. He hadn't expected that. His prior experience with smart geek scientists was that they tended to be haughty and arrogant in the knowledge that few others had their knowledge or expertise. Carter didn't do that. She didn't try to make him feel inadequate because he didn't know the physics that she understood. She didn't appear to look down on any of her teammates just because they weren't fellow specialists in her field.  
  
And his thoughts drifted along as his eyes refocused on the objects in the room…and then, his reverie was interrupted as Daniel walked in and snapped the lights on.  
  
"Oh, Hi Jack," Daniel said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be in here."   
  
"No problem, Daniel," he replied quietly while gesturing at Teal'c – who was looking at the two of them.  
  
"Oh, Hi Teal'c," Daniel looked perplexed, "Am I interrupting something?"  
  
"It is quite allright Daniel Jackson," Teal'c replied, "I am simply performing Kel-nor-reem."  
  
"And I was just thinking," Jack shrugged. "What are you up to Daniel? Looking for something?"  
  
"Well, actually, no, I'm not looking for anything in particular…I just thought I'd visit Sam's lab for a few minutes… I just wanted to….you know, think about her in her space…sort of feel a little closer to her…," Daniel floundered a little trying to put it into words.  
  
He just nodded silently and gestured to the other empty chair in the room.  
  
Daniel was holding one of the artifacts that they'd picked up on one of their previous missions. Turning it over absent-mindedly in his hands, he stepped over to the empty chair and sat down while looking into space.  
  
"Jack, where is she? Why haven't we heard anything from her?" Daniel asked quietly.  
  
He did not reply right away and the silence lengthened. And then, when Daniel thought that Jack was not going to reply, "I wish I knew, Daniel, I wish I knew." That was all he could manage.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 2 ====o0o====  
  
.


	3. Sortie

.  
  
_"Jack, where is she? Why haven't we heard anything from her?" Daniel asked quietly.  
  
He did not reply right away and the silence lengthened. And then, when Daniel thought that Jack was not going to reply, "I wish I knew, Daniel, I wish I knew." That was all he could manage.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 2 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**PART 3: SORTIE**  
  
.  
  
Throughout the night, he stopped by the briefing room to check on the progress of the timeline boards. The task forces worked in shifts through the night. The main timeline became more and more detailed and busy with annotations. Someone had brought the starmap over and the planets visited and connected to were being marked and circled and referenced to the main timeline.   
  
The timeline along the bottom remained where it had the night before, with no new information added explaining what had happened next to one Major Sam Carter.  
  
Walking into the room around 8am, Jack saw a young, wounded Captain leaning on crutches in front of the boards. The airman's right leg trouser was cut off just about mid-thigh and the lower part of his thigh was swathed in bandages.  
  
"Captain," O'Neill alerted the young officer to his presence.  
  
The Captain started a little at suddenly realizing that he was no longer alone. "Sir," he properly replied.  
  
"Son, you don't look like you are supposed to be out of the infirmary yet," Jack observed.  
  
The Captain looked a little sheepish, "Well, actually sir, I….well, I was…," and his voice trailed off in uncertainty.  
  
"Don't worry, Captain, I am not going to report you AWOL from the infirmary, nor am I going to sick the docs after you – unless you face-plant on the floor here….," he reassured the young soldier. He hated being confined to the infirmary and he was not going to rat out someone who'd managed a small escape.  
  
"Thank you, sir," the Captain replied with obvious relief. "Um, sir, is this accurate? Do you really… not have any more information regarding Major Carter?" and he gestured at the lower timeline.  
  
"I'm afraid not, Captain," Jack could see the concern on the Captain's face. "Did you know the Major well?"  
  
"Um, well, sir, not well actually…but, sir, I can tell you where Major Carter was for these 3 or 4 days here…," and he gestured at the next portion of the lower timeline.  
  
Jack didn't reply immediately. He just looked at the young Captain's face and tried to read the answers there without words. Not getting enough information, he decided to go straight for the bonus question. "Was she alive when you last saw her?"  
  
"Yes, sir. Injured, but alive, sir," the Captain replied.  
  
"Where was she when you last saw her?" he asked next.  
  
"P4X-157, sir." The number and letter designation didn't ring any bells for Jack, but SGC personnel had gated to, from, and between so many planets over the last week, that it had become an alphabet soup to Jack. "Those of us who were injured were sent back to Earth and I don't know where Major Carter went from P4X-157. She should have come with us…"  
  
O'Neill nodded and then called Sergeant Greval into the briefing room. "Sergeant, Captain….?"  
  
"Wilson, sir," the Captain supplied.  
  
"Captain Wilson here," O'Neill continued, "has information regarding the mission on P4X-157 and information regarding Major Carter. Go and find out who is working on any missions regarding this planet – and get that information back to me ASAP."  
  
"Yes, sir," Sgt. Greval replied and then saluted and exited smartly.  
  
"Allright," Jack gestured to the empty chairs, "Captain, why don't you take a seat. I have to call a couple of folks and then I'd like you to tell us what you know about those 3 or 4 days."  
  
"Yes, sir," Thomas replied, negotiating his stiff leg while lowering himself into one of the offered chairs.  
  
Jack stepped over to the phone and dialed Daniel's quarters, and then his lab, and then Teal'c's quarters. Receiving no reply from any of his attempts, he turned back to the now-seated Captain. "Son, I'll be back in a few minutes, I have to see if I can track down the other members of SG-1."  
  
"Yes, sir," the Captain replied again.  
  
Stepping quickly out of the room, Jack checked the commissary and the infirmary, and then Sam's lab and Daniel's lab again – and he could not find any sign of either Daniel or Teal'c. Next he started touring the various rooms where the task forces were working and interviews were being held. He finally found them watching one of the interviews of the rescued SG-14 personnel.  
  
"Hey, Daniel, Teal'c," he got their attention.  
  
"Hi, Jack," "O'Neill," they each replied.  
  
"Come with me to the briefing room. I have a Captain Wilson there who says he knows something about Carter's whereabouts over the next 3 or 4 days of the timeline. And, before you ask - he said that she was alive, although injured, when he last saw her. He also said that he didn't know where she went after he last saw her." Jack tried to bring them up to speed quickly with the information that he knew that they would want first.  
  
Daniel nodded, "Lead the way, Jack."   
  
==========================  
  
Back in the briefing room, the men of SG-1 took seats around the table with Captain Wilson. After the instructions had been made, Jack asked the Captain to relate the events of those few days for them all.  
  
"Yes, sir. My squadron and two others were tasked to fly some Tokra-acquired death gliders in an assault against some of the system lords," the Captain began and Jack took a sharp breath. THAT mission??? The Captain saw the look on the Colonel's face and nodded affirmatively and continued, "Yes, sir, we were your support and 'space' cover."  
  
Memories flooded through Jack's mind. Events had been so tense and supercharged. They had had one slim chance of making it work – and they had. At a pretty high cost – they had lost many good pilots that day….many good soldiers. O'Neill had been whisked by the Tokra to a secret base where the rebel Go'a'uld had acquired and amassed 30 stolen and/or refurbished death gliders. A couple of squadron of SGC pilots were scrambled to the rebel base, the Tokra had scraped together as many of their own pilots as they could… and then pilots were scrounged from wherever they could be found – pulled from other teams and assignments…. The Tokra had specifically requested that Colonel O'Neill fly one of the lead attack gliders – with one of their new, naquada-enhanced, mother-ship-killer-bombs.  
  
Three Go'a'uld system lords were meeting nearby for a conference regarding a possible new alliance. For the Tokra and the Tauri, this was an opportunity not to be missed. They had 5 of the killer bombs and were planning to split them amongst the 3 mother ship targets. One of the mother ships would only get one bomb, but hopefully, one was more than enough.   
  
Jack remembered how quickly the Tokra had explained the plan to the General and the other officers at the SGC. The squadrons of pilots were commandeered and sent through to the rebel base immediately. Over the next few days, Jack dealt with several other logistical planning sessions, as well as the hourly 'crisis de jour', before gating over with Teal'c to join the final preparations at the Tokra base. O'Neill didn't remember seeing Captain Wilson, but when Jack and Teal'c had arrived, they had been immediately suited up and taken to their gliders. The other pilots were already in their cockpits and final preflight checks were being run through.  
  
"Jack?" Daniel interrupted Jack's reverie.  
  
"Hmmm…oh, sorry, Captain Wilson…," he apologized, "I was just running through that mission in my head. I'm afraid I don't remember you."  
  
"No, sir, there wasn't time for anything like introductions, sir," the Captain responded.   
  
"So, Captain Wilson, where was Sam?" Daniel brought them back to the main objective.  
  
"Yes, sir. They were assembling the pilots that they had scrounged and they were breaking us into typical squads of 4. My squad was missing a man who was out due to a family emergency and Major Carter joined our group to flush us out to 4," the Captain replied.  
  
"MajorCarter flew one of the gliders in the attack?" Teal'c asked for clarification.  
  
"Yes, sir," the Captain responded.  
  
Teal'c looked slightly unsettled and Jack's stomach turned over. Major Sam Carter was a qualified, competent pilot and she had handled the death glider before. Her competency was not the problem. The problem was that both Jack and Teal'c had flown in that attack and neither of them had known that their teammate was with them.   
  
And once more, O'Neill reflected on how many gliders and pilots had been lost on that mission. They didn't have a final list of KIA, yet, as most of the uninjured surviving pilots were currently helping the Tokra relocate the surviving gliders to another base for safe-keeping.  
  
"Allright, Captain, continue," he prompted.  
  
"Sir, I was the squad leader and my wingman, Captain Bontor, was the one of our squad who was on temporary personal leave. I deferred to Major Carter and offered her command of our squad. She declined and stated that she had been injured on a previous mission and directed me to retain command. We were already into our final preflights when you and Mr. Teal'c arrived, sir."  
  
"That sounds about right, Captain," Jack agreed.  
  
-------------------  
  
Maintaining radio silence, they had had a 3 hour flight around some moons and through an asteroid belt before they approached their objectives. They had split their attack force into three subgroups and attacked from separate directions. One group had attacked from below that system's ecliptic. The second group had attacked from above the ecliptic. And the third had flown around a couple of moons and attacked from a tangent to the 3rd mother-ship's orbit.  
  
O'Neill had been in the third group.   
They were the group with only one bomb and they couldn't afford to miss.  
  
"Sir, we were part of the group tasked to maintain cover for you and your ship," the Captain continued. Jack was stunned. Carter had been part of -_his_- group?  
  
"As you know sir, when we finally broke clear of the cover of the moons and asteroids, we were met by a group of Jaffa gliders… and that was a real fur-ball, sir. Our objective was to keep your plane clear so that you could deliver the package," the Captain paused for any comments from the Colonel. Jack was quiet and just nodded for the Captain to continue.  
  
"Sir, I swear that the next 10 minutes seemed like 2 years. Planes were everywhere. And, Colonel, Major Carter is one hell of a pilot. She took out at least 3 Jaffa gliders – one of which had a dead lock on me. She saved my ass at least twice by calling out incoming that I hadn't seen yet."  
  
Jack was mentally back in his glider as the Captain was retelling the attack. O'Neill's glider had been almost in the center of the Captain's 'fur-ball' – the other pilots had done their jobs superbly well as they protected the naquadah bomb that they were attempting to deliver. He had only been able to take out one of the Jaffa gliders himself – most of the time he did not have a clear shot with all of the other ships covering his.  
  
"…..and then one of the Jaffa got a clear shot at the Colonel's plane, and I thought we'd 'screwed the pooch'," the Captain continued…  
  
And Jack remembered that vividly. Someone had yelled over the radio to him, 'Colonel, from your 5-o'clock! Break hard right, -_NOW_-!'  
  
And he had reacted instantly and he'd seen a fireball almost directly in front and slightly below him as another of their squadron's planes had taken the blast aimed at him.  
  
"Aaaaggghhh…," a strangled noise came out of Jack. "-_THAT_- was Carter!"  
  
"Yes, sir. Major Carter took the blast that was intended for your ship," the Captain confirmed.  
  
Jack wanted to scream at the world.   
Just scream.   
All soldiers knew that they could die doing their duty.   
None of them wanted to die, however.   
And none of them wanted their friends or comrades to die.   
And this process of finding out what had happened to Carter was just plain torture!  
  
He remembered that fireball as the other plane took the blast meant for him.   
He remembered anger and regret that a fellow pilot had died for him.   
He remembered being furious with the Jaffa and the Go'a'uld.   
  
The battle had been over within seconds after that and they'd headed directly for the mother ship and O'Neill had delivered the payload dead on target. The mother ship had exploded in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics as they beat a hasty retreat ahead of the shock waves of flying debris and shrapnel.  
  
"But, Captain, Jack told us that you said that Sam was alive when you saw her at the end of the mission?" Daniel interrupted Jack's reverie.  
  
"Yes, sir. You see, Major Carter's ship was not destroyed by the blast that she took. She and I switched over to our secondary channel to get the sit-rep. The blast damaged her port struts and took out her main engines and most of the controls. She ordered me to stay with the main group and to continue maintaining our guard on your ship. She said that she had enough control to take her ship down to the nearest planet. Since we knew from our pre-mission brief that this planet had a Stargate, she said that she would attempt to get to the gate and return that way."  
  
"I wanted to stay with her sir and follow her down, however, she wouldn't allow me to and she ordered me to continue the mission. She told me that I could see about sending someone through the gate for help after we'd all finished the mission and returned to the Tokra base. I had no choice but to agree and the last I saw of her ship, it was flying sluggishly down towards the planet."  
  
"As you know, sir, we completed the mission and your shot took out the mother-ship. We had a few more Jaffa gliders to deal with as we joined up with the other squadrons after they completed their objectives. Sir, I wanted to inform you personally of Major Carter's situation as soon as we landed back on base. Unfortunately, sir, after we landed, we couldn't find you. Eventually, we were told that you had already gated back to Earth to deal with some other urgent matter."  
  
"We assembled a group of pilots and Tokra to form a search and rescue party for Major Carter. The Tokra dialed the address of the planet that her ship had been heading for. When we arrived, we immediately tried to call her on the radio while we checked for any distress signal from her ship. We knew that she probably wouldn't activate the distress beacon as there could be Jaffa in the area, but we checked for it anyway."   
  
"We didn't need the beacon, however, because she replied almost immediately."  
  
==========================  
  
"Wilson, this is Carter," her voice came over the radio. "What is your status?"  
  
"Major, good to hear your voice, ma'am. We are right in front of the Stargate. We have a 12-man party of pilots and Tokra ready to help get you out of here. Where are you ma'am? And do you have any additional injuries?" Captain Wilson replied.  
  
"Captain, I want you to follow these orders carefully. Leave any extra armament and supplies that you brought cached behind the Stargate. Leave something so that I will recognize where the cache is. Then take your men and get back through the gate. There is a group of several dozen, well-armed and pissed Jaffa hot on my trail. I am going to head away from the gate and will try to lose them and then I'll try to make my way back to the gate after a few days or so," she sent back.  
  
Captain Wilson looked at the rest of his group. "Well, you guys heard the Major, she wants us to leave her here. I'm not leaving here without her. She already saved my butt several times and I already had to leave her behind once. I'm not doing it again," Wilson stated firmly. "However, each of you must make your own decision to stay or go. It's probably a heroic suicide mission if you stay. No one will fault you if you go back now."  
  
Wilson knew that he wasn't commanding a Special Ops Rescue team. These men were pilots. Soldiers, yes. But pilots first and soldiers second. These men were not battle-hardened foot-soldiers who were going to simply take on a group of well-armed Jaffa and win.  
  
Wilson looked around the group and met their gaze one by one. Each of them simply nodded and let him know that they were each staying to help out. No one indicated that they wanted to go back through the gate. Jaffa or no Jaffa.  
  
"OK, Major. Here's the situation," Wilson spoke into the radio, "None of my men are willing to just leave you here," he paused and waited for a response and when none came after a few seconds, he continued, "So, here's what we need, Major, we need you to tell us where you are and you need to tell us how to blow the hell out of those Jaffa so we can all go home. I know it's not fair, ma'am, but we're not getting out of here if you don't give us a hand. Otherwise, we're going to just follow our noses and we'll probably get everyone killed."  
  
Wilson was leaving her no options to sacrifice herself for them. There was silence on the radio and they all knew that she was either really pissed or she was preoccupied with staying ahead of the Jaffa on her tail. Actually, it was probably a little bit of both.  
  
The Captain looked at the others in his group as they waited for the downed pilot to reply.   
  
A few long minutes later, and the radio crackled. "Wilson," and she was obviously running and having trouble talking into the radio at the same time, "…..I am …..going to …..kick …..your butt ……all the way…….to the Asgard galaxy …..and back!"  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he replied respectfully and then just waited.   
  
"Allright, Captain," she continued, "I am approximately 5 clicks north-northeast of the gate. There are approximately 20-30 Jaffa spread out a few clicks behind me to the northeast. I am going to swing slightly north and then head slightly southwest up this north-trending ridge line. If you take your men up the spur and then along the ridgeline… and set half of them on one side and half of them on the other, we might be able to catch the Jaffa by surprise as they come over the ridge after me." She had obviously scrutinized the topographic maps that they'd been given of the area around the Stargate in their survival packets.   
  
"Yes, ma'am. We've got the ridgeline sighted and we're headed up," he informed her as they started up the spur that climbed to the northerly-trending ridgeline.  
  
"Allright, Captain, you have about a half-hour and then you need to find defensible positions with cover on both sides of the ridgeline. Make sure that you have overlapping fields of coverage so that no Jaffa can slip through."  
  
"Do you have any claymores?" she continued.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Lots actually," the Captain replied.   
  
"Good. Set a line of them just below the ridgeline and on either side and be ready to blow them when needed. Set some others in a roughly east-west direction just to your south so that you can blow them as you fall back," she directed.  
  
"Understood, Ma'am," he replied.  
  
"Allright, I'm going to sign off for a bit while I beat feet up this ridge. Let me know when you've established your position. You'll need to send a man or two out towards me to read the terrain so that you can give me markers so that I can lead them into your set-up."  
  
"Will do, ma'am. We'll be ready for you," and with that, the rescue party settled into the climb up the ridge to get into position and set up their trap. So far, what they had on their side was that the Jaffa didn't apparently know that the Tauri had any sort of rescue mission going. There had been no one waiting at the gate. The Jaffa had apparently figured that they would catch the downed pilot before she made it to the gate. And, the Jaffa were probably a bit confused by the fact that their prey, while seeming to head towards the gate was also inexplicable headed uphill when she could have run along the bottom of the mountain and saved much effort and energy. Hopefully, they just figured that she was one more 'stupid Tauri.'  
  
And just about 40 minutes later, they found what they thought would work. They got their men set up on both sides of the ridge. Some of them were behind solid boulders, others were dug in and behind trees. They set the claymores as she had directed.   
  
When they were in position, Wilson clicked his radio, "Major, we're in position. I am sending two men out to scout the terrain so that we can guide you in."   
  
There was no immediate response and the silence lengthened to several minutes. The Captain waited to give her time to deal with whatever was happening on her end.  
  
And then the radio crackled and her voice came through again, "Roger that, Captain, as you start feeding me landmarks, let me know how close they are to your set-up. I am going to let the Jaffa get real close to me when we come up on you – we need them moving fast and not looking at the terrain. We want them fixed on me – we don't want any of them to see anything amiss before you let all hell break loose on them."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Wilson replied and then he relayed the instructions to his men.  
  
Then he had to wait.   
  
He checked over everyone's positions again and then double-checked their ammo and grenades. Then he double-checked their planned lines of egress and made sure that everyone knew exactly what they needed to do.   
  
Every man was serious and deadly focused.   
They weren't special ops trained, but they looked damn good to him.  
  
And then he heard Thomas and Shiver calling out markers to Carter over the radio. She was changing her course and speed to line herself up with their directions and to get the Jaffa into the position that she wanted. Wilson admired the Major's tactics. She had put together a well-thought out trap – while running from the Jaffa over terrain that she'd never traveled before towards a group of rescuers that she'd only talked to for a few minutes over the radio. They just might make this work – he'd heard that she was smart, but he was still very, very impressed. And, he'd already been impressed by how she'd flown her plane in that nasty dogfight-in-space.  
  
The Captain also sighed as he realized that the one who had the lowest chance of survival here was still Carter. She'd set it up that way. She was taking the highest risks. She'd set up a trap that allowed the rest of them the maximum coverage and support and she was going to 'hang it all out there' to pull this off.   
  
Not that Wilson had a better idea. He was a pilot, not a ground soldier or tactician. So, why was she any good at it, he wondered? He knew that she was an astrophysicist who had flown jets for the US Air Force so that she could work through the track to becoming one of the lucky ones to fly on the Space Shuttle. How in the world, did she end up on SG-1 - which was basically a ground team?  
  
The radio traffic between Thomas, Shiver and Carter was getting faster and then Thomas and Shiver were scooting back to drop into their positions with the rest of them. Thomas signaled Wilson that the Major was about 5 minutes away from reaching them. They wouldn't be able to speak with her now as she was going to let the Jaffa get so close that they might hear the radio - and they couldn't let the Jaffa suspect that there were any other Tauri on this planet.  
  
The next few minutes were silent torture.   
  
Wilson could see his men tense and shift in anticipation.   
  
Then they could hear the sounds of someone running and crashing though the brush. Staff blasts were hitting the trees in the region just ahead of them.  
  
And then the downed pilot burst through the trees and over the ridgeline almost directly down the middle of their trap. Everyone took aim, and one of the Tokra snagged the Major and pulled her down as she came even with his position. Slamming to the ground she turned over and faced back as the Jaffa came charging behind her.   
  
Wilson had his men hold their fire until the Jaffa were almost on top of their positions. Then he signaled for them to fire at the same time that the claymores on either side of the ridgeline went off.   
  
Everyone was showered with flying dirt, tree limbs, rocks and other debris.   
  
And then they were firing as they rolled back in the classic leapfrog covering positions. The Tokra had handed Carter a P90 and she slipped right into their formation. When they had passed the cross-ridge line of claymores, Wilson waited until the Jaffa were right on top of it and then set it off, taking down most of the Jaffa left following them.  
  
The Major was now running next to Captain Wilson as they egressed down the ridge. "Tell your men to run as fast as they can now, Captain, you and I will cover their backs as we come up to the gate."   
  
Nodding, he spoke quickly into his radio and ordered them to fall back to the gate with all possible speed.   
  
Thomas got there first and dialed up the gate and they started diving through. Only a few Jaffa were struggling behind them and sending sporadic staff blasts that were just enough to make them duck and wince as tree and rock shrapnel flew at them from various directions. Carter, Wilson and Thomas were the last three holding the gate and exchanging fire with the few remaining Jaffa.  
  
Carter signaled to the two Captains to make a run for it and she followed right behind them, backing up quickly with her P90 on full automatic. One of the remaining Jaffas scored a final hit when a staff blast hit the side of Captain Wilson's leg just before he stepped through the gate.   
  
Stepping out of the wormhole, they found a scene of semi-organized chaos as the rebel base was being prepped for evacuation. They watched the open gate for pursuit, but none came and the wormhole shut down.  
  
Carter turned to the men who had risked their lives to save her and she shook her head, "I owe you all my life. You pulled that off like trained special ops soldiers. You all impressed the hell out of me."  
  
The various Captains and Lieutenants all smiled at the praise.  
  
"And, Captain Wilson, as soon as your leg has healed, I am still going to personally kick your butt across the galaxy for disobeying my orders and attempting such a stupid mission!" She stated this with mock gravity and a semi-serious glare.  
  
"Just glad that you'll have the chance, ma'am. You know that Colonel O'Neill would have done the honours if we didn't bring you back, so I was going to get that trip across the galaxy one way or the other!" and he grinned at her.  
  
==========================  
  
_-Back in the SGC Briefing Room_-  
  
"Sir," Captain Wilson continued, "Major Carter didn't appear to have any obvious broken bones, but she had some cuts and bruises on her face and hands that were visible, and she had what looked like electrical burns down her right arm and right leg. I figured that it probably happened when she 'landed'. And, of course, there were the injuries on her back from her previous mission. I couldn't see any other additional apparent injuries."  
  
"A corpsman field-dressed my staff wound and she said that she was going to scare up some grub for us while we waited to gate home. That was the last I saw of her. She didn't return before I was herded through the gate with the other injured," the Captain concluded.  
  
"Its allright, son," O'Neill sent his way. "You did an admirable job. You'll probably get a medal – you and your men deserve one."  
  
"No, sir, Major Carter does. More than one actually. You know, sir, I think that she actually let that Jaffa glider blast hit her plane exactly where she wanted it to. I think lots of pilots might have been able to throw themselves in harm's way in the heat of battle…but, sir, I watched her do it, and I'd swear that she actually thought out how she might be able to take the hit and actually survive." Wilson paused and took a breath before continuing.  
  
"I didn't follow her orders on the planet and I dumped a bad situation into her hands and I made her save us…and I knew what I was doing sir. I'd already seen what she'd do to save fellow teammates and soldiers. She gave us directions and a tactical plan and trap – that worked, sir. Neither I nor my men are special ops trained, sir, and yet we were all impressed by what we were able to set up so fast."  
  
"Sir, she saved my life – again. The truth is that we thought we were on a suicide mission. Heroic and all, we thought we could live - and die with that," the Captain paused again. "Sir, I would take a posting to a non-flying position if it meant that I could serve on a team under Major Carter's command."  
  
"Indeed, you are a wise soldier to realize the wisdom of working with Major Carter," Teal'c intoned approvingly and the Captain looked a little nonplussed and then pleased by the large Jaffa's approval.  
  
"Sir, if there is anything else that I can do…," the Captain finished.  
  
==========================  
  
Captain Wilson had headed back to the infirmary and Jack, Teal'c and Daniel talked about their new information.  
  
"O'Neill, with the times and information given by Captain Wilson, I estimate that Major Carter traveled between 35-45 clicks from her plane to the Stargate," Teal'c informed them. "It is difficult to be more accurate without knowing the terrain, but the rough estimate can be made from my knowledge of the Major's typical ground speed and considering how fast things transpired once the Captain and his men joined her on the planet."  
  
"That sounds about right, Teal'c," Jack agreed. "So, what do we know now? We have her here on the timeline," and Jack marked off the approximate end of the rescue mission on the timeline, "and she has a back full of bruises, welts and cuts and some of them are infected. Even if she is taking the antibiotics, the bandages and dressings haven't been changed in days. She got some injuries from crash landing on the planet. Electrical burns on her right arm and shoulder. And then, once again, she gets to hike with these untreated injuries…in this case hiking over who knows what type of terrain and weather, with pissy Jaffa behind her. At the end of the rescue mission she's probably got a nice fever from the infection and who knows what else that the Captain couldn't see."  
  
"So, where does she go next? Why wasn't she with the Captain and the others who were evacuated to Earth and the infirmary?" Jack asked his teammates for answers that he knew that they didn't have.  
  
"Jack, maybe she went with the Tokra. They know her, and her Dad is one of them. She could be at one of their bases – recovering after they used one of their healing devices. Maybe she's just has to wait until they can get her back home by ship or by Stargate," Daniel voiced hopefully.  
  
Jack didn't think it was likely. Not after finding out what Carter had already been through. Such an easy, happy ending just didn't seem like what the universe was leading up to. But Jack didn't want to slam Daniel's hopes, so he just quietly said, "Maybe, Daniel, and I just hope you are right."  
  
==========================  
  
Sitting in the briefing room a few hours later, he stared at the timelines. The general SGC timeline was becoming crowded and people were writing smaller and smaller as events and general details were added to the growing picture. His eyes then traveled down his Major's timeline and he pondered the possibilities of where she could be.  
  
One, she could be with the Tokra, and they might just be waiting until they could get a ship back to Earth, or perhaps they were preoccupied and it just wasn't safe for her to gate home.  
  
Two, perhaps she was with the last mission that was still in-progress? Another day or two and those soldiers should be returning….but that mission was to a planet on the other side of the galaxy from where Carter had last been seen by Captain Wilson. Of course, the Stargate made galactic distances almost irrelevant. Almost. How could she have been pulled into that mission from the evacuation site of the Tokra base? It seemed pretty unlikely….  
  
Three, she was on one of their backup transfer sites/caches and the Stargate wouldn't work, or she couldn't get to it. They were setting up clean-up teams who were going to visit each of these sites and check on the status of the planets and clean up or replace any used or broken materials. Perhaps they would find her there…or some indication of what had happened to her.  
  
Four, she was captured or dead. He hated even considering these options, but it was hard not to think about them almost constantly. The longer they went without information and the longer they went without hearing from her, the more unlikely that she would be found alive and well.  
  
Staring blackly at the now-crowded whiteboard, he decided to take a walk, stretch his legs and see what Daniel and Teal'c were up to. Maybe they were following a lead that he hadn't thought of.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 3 ====o0o====  
  
. 


	4. Left Behind

.  
  
_Staring blackly at the now-crowded whiteboard, he decided to take a walk, stretch his legs and see what Daniel and Teal'c were up to. Maybe they were following a lead that he hadn't thought of.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 3 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**Part 4: Left Behind**  
  
.  
  
27 hours later.  
  
"Unscheduled offworld activation. Unscheduled offworld activation."  
  
Colonel O'Neill, General Hammond and SGC personnel from all over the base scrambled towards the control room or some other vantage point.  
  
"Incoming wormhole. Receiving SG-5 IDC."  
  
"Open the iris, Sergeant," the General ordered. SG-5 was one of the four SGC teams on the combined mission – the last major mission of the events that had started more than 10 days ago. SG-5 and three other SG teams, along with a few Tokra and several squads of special ops trained Rangers, had been tasked with infiltrating a Go'a'uld planet where production facilities were maintained for the construction of death gliders and other Go'a'uld ships and technology.   
  
Daniel and Teal'c entered the control room and stepped over to stand by Jack's side. They exchanged glances, but no one said a word. Everyone just watched the rippling pool inside the ring of naquadah.  
  
And then two soldiers ran through,   
  
…then another   
  
…then two more,   
  
…then there was a pause,   
  
….  
  
And then two more came through carrying a third, who was injured.   
  
Then the gate was quiet as medical personnel surrounded the returning soldiers.   
  
…  
  
And then, behind them, more soldiers started stepping though.   
Some hurt, some dirty and bloody, some being supported by teammates.   
They all looked tired.  
  
Then Colonel Roberts stepped through with two other soldiers trotting closely behind him. "Count off, folks, let me know if anyone is missing," Roberts called out… and around the room squad commanders were locating their personnel and counting noses. Each then gave their tallies to the Colonel so that he knew how many were still to be expected through the gate before they could close the iris. Listening to all of their reports, Roberts turned to the control room window and signaled '7' personnel should still be on their way.  
  
A few minutes passed and then three more stumbled through the gate and it was difficult to tell who was holding up whom.   
  
That left 4 more.   
  
The minutes passed slowly as they waited.   
  
Medical personnel were swarming over those who'd come down the ramp already, and Jack noticed that the medical personnel were arguing with the wounded. Watching carefully, it looked like the wounded were refusing to leave for the infirmary. He shook his head in understanding – they wanted to wait until their last set of comrades had made it back through the gate. A few of the medical personnel were becoming adamant with the more seriously wounded. Jack looked at the General, but Hammond seemed inclined to let the officers work it out for themselves. He understood their need to wait for those who were still, hopefully, coming.  
  
Getting restless, O'Neill decided to join Colonel Roberts at the bottom of the ramp in the gateroom.   
  
And, then two bodies leaped through the gate and fell heavily on the ramp before rolling forward a few feet.   
  
Each of the two men, pulled themselves up and turned immediately back to the gate watching for their comrades.   
  
A few seconds later, a third soldier flew through the gate, narrowly missing his two teammates.   
  
"CLOSE THE IRIS, CLOSE THE IRIS, NOW," the third man through screamed.   
  
The General signaled quickly to Sgt. Davis to close the iris.  
  
The iris slid shut and the gateroom was quiet for a second.   
  
And then the iris groaned and flexed outwards…and then it relaxed back into its normal position as the wormhole disconnected.   
  
The last soldier through was leaning forward and O'Neill could see that the young man was crying.  
  
One of them hadn't made it.  
  
…  
  
====o0o==== End Part 4 ====o0o==== 


	5. Devastation

_.  
  
The last soldier through was leaning forward and O'Neill could see that the young man was crying.  
  
One of them hadn't made it.  
  
…  
  
====o0o==== End Part 4 ====o0o====  
_  
.  
  
**Part 5: Devestation**  
  
.  
  
Colonel Roberts turned to O'Neill and Jack saw the pain and anguish in his eyes.   
  
Roberts had just lost a man.   
  
And, then Jack realized that Roberts was looking at him with a look of apology in his eyes… ….and that could only mean…one thing…. he tried to ask Roberts, he tried to get the words out, but his brain couldn't get his mouth to say them, his mouth and brain weren't tracking. He couldn't focus. He just looked back at the closed iris and the two soldiers who were trying to comfort their anguished teammate.   
  
The gateroom was otherwise quiet in spite of the crowd of soldiers, technicians and medical personnel squeezed together.   
  
It couldn't be her.   
It -_couldn't_- be her.   
She couldn't have been there.   
And even if she had been, what were the odds that she would be the only one to not come back? What were the odds????  
  
"Jack, I'm sorry," Roberts said quietly.   
  
"Colonel Roberts," the General spoke gently from Jack's right side, "How did the mission go?"  
  
"Mission completed, sir. The entire facility was wired and mined. It should have blown to smithereens – the reaction of the gate was a good indication that it all went as planned," Roberts reported. "We will to send a MALP through and check on the status of the damage for a proper assessment, however. And, sir, we need to send a recovery and retrieval team through for…," and he paused and glanced sympathetically at Jack, "for Major Carter, sir."   
  
And with that he made it concrete.   
He said it and that made it real.   
  
Jack wanted to throw up and Daniel looked shattered.   
Teal'c's face darkened and clouded over.  
  
"Sir, with your permission, SG-1 will conduct the recovery mission," O'Neill controlled his voice.  
  
"Of course, Colonel. Go and suit up. We'll send the MALP and assessment and recovery teams through as soon as we've finished a preliminary debriefing," the General instructed.  
  
"Sirs?" The young Captain who had been the last one through was now standing in front of the senior officers. "Permission to accompany the recovery team? I know exactly where to look, sirs. And… I -_have_- to go. I…..just…we…," and his voice trailed off in misery.  
  
"Sir, SG-8, would also like permission to return and assist with the recovery," this came from another direction in the crowd. And then the General was barraged with similar requests from throughout the assemblage of soldiers.  
  
Holding up his hand to get their attention, they quieted and waited for him to speak. "Any personnel who wish to, may assist with the assessment and recovery – all personnel who are medically cleared for gate travel by the time that the debriefings are concluded," the General announced. "Go and get yourselves cleaned up and get yourself cleared by the doctors. We'll take it from there folks," and with that the medics began ushering their charges towards the infirmary.  
  
"Sirs, may we speak to you privately for a moment?" The same young Captain was persistent.  
  
The General nodded considerately, and stepped to the side of the gateroom, out of the stream of personnel who were heading out the door. O'Neill, Roberts, Teal'c, Daniel and the Captain's two teammates clustered around the General.  
  
"Sir….," and here the Captain's voice faltered a bit and he glanced at Colonel O'Neill and the other members of SG-1, "Sir, there's a chance that the Major may have survived," and he stunned them with those words.  
  
"Roberts?" Jack quickly asked his opinion.  
  
Roberts was just looking at the young Captain. "Jack, I don't see how she could have made it through what we set up…..but, Captain Hiedall and Lts. Bedford and Ponce were the Major's team. They would have the best chance at this assessment." Turning back to the Captain, "How do you think she could have survived….?"  
  
"We found some caves, sir. She was severely injured and she ordered us to leave her there while we completed setting the charges on the naquadah refinery and power control complex. She…stayed in touch on the radio and talked us through finding the main power source controls and then she talked us through where and how to connect the explosives to the crystal controls. We set the timers and then we had to run like hell to make it to the gate…..Colonel O'Neill, we wanted to go back, but there wasn't time, the caves were too far away. The timing was predetermined so that all of the factories and the refinery were to blow simultaneously…and there was no way we could get back to her. She knew it sir, when she sent us out. And we knew it too. And I hate it, sir," the Captain's voice was shaking.  
  
Lt. Bedford spoke up now, "Major Carter was severely injured before the blast. We need to go back right now, sirs. If there is even the slightest chance that the cave survived the explosion, then the Major could be alive, but dying right now. Sirs, she may not be dead yet and we can't face the idea that she may be dying while we're getting clean clothes. If there is any chance that she made it, we have to go and find out. If we find out later that she died just because we didn't return quickly enough….I don't think that we can live with that, sir."  
  
The General hadn't interjected or interrupted any of the impassioned pleas and he noticed that Colonel O'Neill was simply listening intently….and that Jack looked…hopeful whereas just a few minutes ago he had looked devastated. Daniel and Teal'c were watching the General and the Colonel intently.  
  
"General, please…," Daniel couldn't hold it in any longer.  
  
"General, SG-1 can be ready to go in 15 minutes. The Captain and the 2 Lieutenants can be our guides," O'Neill recommended.  
  
"You have a go, gentleman," the General agreed. "The MALP still goes through first, however. We'll see if we have a medic available to accompany you."  
  
"Yes, sir!" "Thanks, General" "Thank you, GeneralHammond," they all chorused as they saluted and double-timed to get suited up.  
  
In the locker room, as they were jumping into their field clothes and gear, Colonel Barnes and SG-10 approached Colonel O'Neill. "Jack, SG-10 is fully kitted with rescue gear and medical supplies and we have 2 paramedics as well. We are ready to come-with," Barnes offered.  
  
Jack gratefully accepted as he collected Daniel, Teal'c, Col. Roberts, Capt. Hiedall and Lts. Bedford and Ponce. As they all trooped to the armory, SG-10 went ahead to set up the MALP with additional supplies and equipment.  
  
Fifteen minutes after leaving the gateroom, they trooped back in. O'Neill took a quick look over the assembled men and women and noticed 2 additional members that he didn't recognize. Anticipating his questions, one of them stepped forward, "Sergeants Perry and Franks, sir. We are gate technicians and we have packed the portable DHD on the MALP. Sgt. Franks and I will work on getting it connected while the rest of you complete your search."  
  
Jack was impressed. Now that they'd said it, it was obvious that the DHD on the other side was probably blown to hell…and they would need a way back. The two sergeants were looking at O'Neill with determination and resolution. He couldn't turn them down and he was impressed that they'd stepped up to fill the required hole.  
  
"Your presence is gratefully accepted, gentlemen. But now, I think we need a couple of soldiers to watch your backs while you…" and he was interrupted as the 7 non-injured members of SG-2 and SG-8 walked into the gateroom.  
  
"Permission to join your group, sir," Major Ferretti and Colonel O'Keefe asked formally.  
  
O'Neill looked up at General Hammond and the General simply nodded. "Accepted, accepted, accepted," Jack couldn't help grinning. This brought their hastily assembled group to 20.   
  
"Is everyone ready?" Colonel O'Neill met the eyes of each of them and was impressed by the solid determination and commitment that he saw in each set of eyes.  
  
Looking up to the control room, Gen. Hammond was standing behind Sgt. Davis as he began dialing back to the Go'a'uld planet. Jack couldn't help but notice that there were a large number of technicians, scientists and other SGC personnel behind the general and the control room staff.   
  
Off to the right side, he caught sight of Captain Wilson leaning on his crutches. Meeting the Captain's eyes, the Colonel nodded to him and the Captain answered with a small encouraging nod in return.  
  
"Chevron Six engaged."  
  
"Chevron Seven, locked," Sgt. Davis finished the count and the wormhole flushed outwards and then settled back to the rippling vertical pond.  
  
The MALP was sent through first.  
  
…  
  
The first images showed no Jaffa.   
  
…No images of life whatsoever.   
  
Just a scene of total and absolute destruction.   
Nothing but rubble everywhere.   
  
…  
  
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c quickly began to lose the small hope that had been building inside of them.  
  
"Whooooo…..," Jack breathed lowly as they watched the screen that the technicians had jury-rigged for them in the gateroom.  
  
"Captain, are you sure that there is a chance that Major Carter could have survived this?" He had to ask.  
  
"Yes, sir," the Captain responded although his eyes and face were showing the doubt and despair that he didn't want to acknowledge. "The cave is back in the hills behind this main blast site – that was the main power complex."  
  
"Right, then," Colonel O'Neill reset his objectives back on their mission.  
  
"MALP telemetry indicates radiation levels are acceptable for short periods of time. You should stay no longer than 72 hours." This came over the microphone from one of the gate room technicians who was working with the scientists and a medical officer to assess the data.  
  
"MALP readings do not indicate any signs of life….that is, nothing is moving," the technician continued.   
  
Nothing was moving….so either everything around the gate was dead, or their enemies were lying in wait to jump on them after they sent people instead of robots through the gate.   
  
And anyone waiting on the other side would be out for deadly revenge.  
  
Colonel O'Neill took one more look at the men and women assembled to go through the gate with him. Looking back up at the General, "Sir, we are ready to depart on your word."  
  
"You have the word, Colonel," Hammond responded solemnly.  
  
O'Neill nodded and turned back towards the gate, "Let's head out, folks," and they all turned and quickly walked up the ramp and stepped through the gate in double file. Nearing the top of the ramp, just before stepping through, he turned back to the control room window to give the General a final sketchy salute, and the General sent the following words after him as he stepped into the rippling blue mirror, "Bring her back, Jack."  
  
==========================  
  
Stepping through and exiting the gate, the devastation was even more overwhelming.   
  
The members of the recovery team were moving down the gate steps carefully.   
There was debris and rubble… and silence.  
  
The portable DHD had been an unexpected gift recently from the Tollan. Jack did not know how this 'gift' fit into the Tollan policy of not sharing technology with 'less advanced races,' but neither could the SGC look a gift horse in the mouth…so to speak. Perhaps, O'Neill thought, the Tollan fudged their own rules a little and made themselves believe that they were still within the letter of their own laws by rationalizing it with the fact that they were only giving the Tauri Go'a'uld technology that the Tauri already had experience with. The Tollan simply did not share Tollan technology…?   
  
After a few minutes surveying the immediate surroundings and destruction, O'Neill ordered the DHD technicians to get to work and he ordered Major Ferretti and Colonel O'Keefe to set up SG-2 and SG-8 in positions around the gate to watch for any incoming hostiles and to protect the sergeants while they worked.  
  
Leaving O'Keefe in charge, O'Neill and the others struck out across the devastated region. Capt. Heidall and his two teammates took the lead as they headed in the direction of some hills approximately 4-5 miles (roughly 6.5-8 kilometers) away.  
  
After s couple of hours or so of walking laboriously through, around, and over the rubble, they got past the majority of the broken buildings and debris and the walking was easier and they were able to pick up their pace. The group had been walking in a long, quiet single-file string, with everyone on alert and constantly scanning the surrounding area for hostiles.  
  
With Teal'c taking the rear position, O'Neill quickened his pace until he had joined Capt. Heidall at the front of the procession.   
  
"Lieutenant Bedford, take point for awhile," the Colonel ordered the Lieutenant up to the front of their group.  
  
The Colonel then walked quietly alongside the young Captain for 10 or 15 minutes before speaking again. "Captain, what were the extent of the Major's injuries when you last saw her?"  
  
Jack saw the young man nod his head when the expected question came, and the Captain cleared his throat before responding. "Sir, the most serious injuries were a broken right leg and a staff wound to her upper left arm. She also had a knife wound in her right thigh, along with various cuts and bruises – and I think she had some broken ribs.... She may have also had a concussion. I'm not a medic, sir…," the Captain apologized.  
  
"Its allright, son, it's not your fault," Jack tried to ease a bit of the younger man's pain, although he knew that his words would only help a little. "And, Captain, Major Carter has lived through worse, and she can do it again," and he gave the young man an encouraging grin.  
  
The Captain gave him a small, shaky, hopeful smile in return. "I sure hope so, sir."  
  
Jack wondered what had transpired over the past few days on this planet. It was obvious that the Captain and the Lieutenants were extremely attached and loyal to the Major. They were acting like teammates that had served with her for years instead of just a few days. Of course, days in intense battle and special ops forged bonds between soldiers that otherwise took years to develop.  
  
"So, Captain, tell me what happened over the past few days," Jack tried to make his voice as casual as he could under the circumstances.  
  
The Captain looked over at him as they continued side-by-side at the front of the group. "Well, sir, we gated to P6X-484, which was set up as the staging area and launch point for our mission." The SGC and Beta Site gates were under such a heavy load dealing with the refugees and those returning from completed missions, that this last, large mission had required a separate assembly point. "We were there for 4 days as the troops were assembled and we were given a few days to work with the Tokra, run though our mission objectives, plan routes, study the maps of the terrain, etc."  
  
Glancing over at the Colonel and then turning his eyes back to the hills in front of them, he continued, "I believe that Major Carter arrived late on the second day or early in the morning of the third day that our team was at the staging area..."   
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 5 ====o0o====  
  
. 


	6. Pain

.  
  
**Pain**

.  
  
Dark. Pain. Hard to breathe.   
Trying to move…more pain.  
Where was this?

Drifting away from consciousness again, and then fuzzily becoming aware again….  
Over and over…  
Couldn't see a thing. Only pain.  
A screaming headache. Throbbing pain in the shoulder and chest and leg.  
Breathing was painful. Shallow, slow breaths.  
Sharp pains with each breath that shot sharp pains through the continuing throbbing pains.  
  
Dark.  
Hard to think.   
Hard to concentrate.  
Can't focus.  
Need to focus.   
  
Need to do something besides just pass endless time in unending pain.  
  
There…she felt her right hand moving slightly.   
Painful, but a huge accomplishment.  
  
Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
Focus.  
  
Moving the hand and arm now. Reaching sideways….fingers touched her pack and materials laid out beside it. Her fingers found her gun…and then her water bottle….then…there, her flashlight. Wrapping her fingers around it, she grasped the flashlight and flicked the on switch and was rewarded with a bright beam of light that made her squint to protect her dilated eyes that had been trying futilely to grasp any light in the complete darkness of this cave.  
  
Allowing her eyes to focus on the wall, floor and ceiling of the cave, she slowly swept the light over what had been the entrance to her cave…and what was now looking more like a tomb…. From her prone position on the floor, she could see nothing but a wall of rubble sealing off the entrance. From top to bottom and from side to side, the opening appeared completely sealed.  
  
Sighing gently, she lowered the flashlight and gazed upwards. It didn't really make any difference, actually. She wasn't going anywhere with her injuries, and the rest of the SGC personnel had gone through the wormhole – and she hoped fervently that they had made it out safely. Especially, the Captain and the two Lieutenants.   
  
And, realistically, the burial of the entrance would actually ensure that she wouldn't be captured and/or tortured by any Jaffa who might have managed to survive the explosions. More pain was definitely a good thing to avoid over her last few hours. She'd always dreaded the possibility that any of them might have to spend their last few hours in the torture of one of the Go'a'uld. There was some comfort in knowing that she wouldn't have to face that. No ribbon devices. No pain sticks. No endless questions by arrogant, demonic, egotistical all-around-super-bad-guys.  
  
Hmm… it was easier to focus now. Her thoughts were clearing a little. She wondered how long she had been unconscious…or drifting in and out just below consciousness…? Unfortunately, her watch was on her left wrist and there was no way she could lift that arm.   
  
So she just lay back and continued to concentrate on slow, shallow breaths.  
  
Her left shoulder and arm felt intensely hot and 'on fire.' Adding the pain from her broken leg, broken ribs and the crack she'd taken on her head… the pain was making her nauseous. Oh, yeah, and she'd almost forgotten the knife wound in her right thigh…from before the leg had been broken. The knife wound explained why her leg was feeling warm….probably infected.   
  
She was going to have to take something for the pain, or her last few hours would be spent unconscious. Setting the flashlight down carefully, she slowly opened the pack with her right hand. Because she couldn't sit up, she turned her head a little towards her right side, but mostly progressed by touch and her familiarity of the basic military gear. Opening the pack, she pulled a few items out. Out came a few MRE's, and the thought of food made her even more nauseous. Then her fingers recognized the med kit and she slowly pulled it out.   
  
Opening the med kit, she felt around for some pain tablets of some sort. Aspirin, tylenol, advil, motrin…something…she found some morphine ampoules…that would work on the pain, but it would also probably knock her unconscious or at least back into the realm of fuzziness that she'd just come out of. So, the morphine was out. She didn't want to spend her last few hours unaware. She didn't want to slip away without at least a little more time to think about things.   
  
Finally finding a packet of motrin, she tore the packet open with her teeth and put the two tablets in her mouth. Shakily opening the water bottle one-handed, she dribbled a little water into her dry mouth to help her swallow the pills. Water dribbled down her chin and down the side of her face, but she got enough in her mouth so that she could get the pills down.   
  
Placing the water bottle back at her side, she slowly twisted the cap back on one-handed while staring at the ceiling. Thinking about the flashlight, she wondered how long the batteries would last. A few more hours? She had spares batteries in her pack, but one-handed she wasn't sure that she could negotiate opening the flashlight and exchanging the batteries. On the other hand, it was a lot better in here with some light. A whole lot better than the complete and utter darkness.  
  
She couldn't tell if the pills were having any effect yet. She was tempted to take a couple more, but again, she didn't want to drift off into muzziness for her last few hours. So the pain would have to stay. Gazing up again, she focused on slow, shallow breaths.  
  
She wondered where the Colonel, Daniel and Teal'c were. It seemed like it had been so long since she'd last seen them…..When -_had_- she last seen them? Letting her mind skip backwards through the past days and events, she realized that she couldn't really couldn't pin down how much time had passed since SG-1's last mission.  
  
Her universe had skewed from anything like normal operations since that last mission. She wondered what had happened to the rest of SG-1. The last that she could remember of the Colonel was the bombing run on the mother ship. Captain Wilson, and the rest of the rescue team that helped her off the planet, had let her know that the Colonel had delivered the bomb on target and that they had returned to base safely. Captain Wilson had told her that he believed that the Colonel had been immediately recalled to SGC headquarters almost as soon as their ships had finished taxiing on the Tokra base runway. So, what had happened to the Colonel after that? She had no information.  
  
And she hadn't seen Teal'c or Daniel at all since SG-1's last mission. It was so hard not knowing what had happened to everyone. They were a team and she wanted to be with them, to help them, to cover their sixes. To assist with any firefights, or emergencies. To know that they were allright.  
  
She wondered what they knew of where she'd been since they last stepped through the gate. She'd been the one living her life over the past few days and she could hardly keep it straight. Especially with a couple of periods of extended unconsciousness.  
  
Of course, they probably knew how her past few days ended. Assuming that her recent teammates had made it back to the SGC. Colonel Roberts, or Captain Heidall or one of the two Lieutenants or even someone from one of the other squads would be able to tell them that she'd been here.  
  
Sam hoped that they were safe. That the Colonel, Daniel and Teal'c had made it through all of this and that they were safe. She wished that she could see them one more time, to talk with them, to tell them that she loved them. She knew that she was so lucky to have been able to work with them. To have been able to spend some of life's journey with them.  
  
Aaaaaaaaccccccggggghhhhhh…….she couldn't hold a small groan back.   
  
The pain was intense.   
Waves of nausea assaulted her.   
Throwing up would make things so much worse, however.   
Her ribs couldn't take it, nor would she be able to handle the pain of doubling over.   
  
Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
She looked at the flashlight again.   
It didn't seem to be getting much dimmer.   
How much time had passed while she lay here thinking?   
She had no idea. Minutes? An hour or so? She couldn't say.   
  
She looked at the flashlight again and she knew that when it first started to dim, she wouldn't notice much as her eyes would compensate for as long as they could. She would only begin to notice the dimming light when the batteries were close to winking out.  
  
Unsure of how the timing was going to work out….unsure of whether she or the batteries would fade away first, she slowly moved her right hand again.   
  
Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
Slowly moving her hand and arm back into her pack, she searched for the extra batteries. Finally securing them in her grasp, she dragged them out and placed them next to her. She still didn't think that she'd be able to manage opening the flashlight and replacing the batteries with only one hand, but she figured that she'd try if she had to. Right now, trying that one-handed sounded better than lying here in the dark listening to her rattling breaths.  
  
The heat in her leg was increasing. The pain in her shoulder was so intense she couldn't believe that she was still conscious. She knew that burns were one of the most painful ways to die. Thank god she only had burns on one shoulder.   
  
The broken ribs continued to set off pain receptors with every breath. The waves of nausea increased and she thought her body's autonomic responses might force her to double over and retch. Slow, shallow breaths…. She didn't retch, but it was so, so close. Intellectually, she knew that she would only feel worse if she reflexed into retching spasms. The added pain would probably end up putting her unconscious again, as well.  
  
Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
Slow...shallow... breaths.  
  
Time to focus the thoughts again.   
  
She thought back over the events since the last SG-1 mission. Again, things seemed to be a jumble, with missing stretches, some of which she knew were missing because she'd been unconscious.   
  
Trying to get it in focus.   
Trying to get it in sequence.   
Trying to make sense of it all.   
  
It was as if the fabric of her space-time had ripped as a strong current flooded through and she'd been swept and bounced along the rocks of time… and missions.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 6 ====o0o====  
  
.


	7. Fortitude

.  
  
_Trying to get it in focus.   
Trying to get it in sequence.   
Trying to make sense of it all.   
  
It was as if the fabric of her space-time had ripped as a strong current flooded through and she'd been swept and bounced along the rocks of time…. and missions.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 6 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**Part 7: Fortitude**  
  
.  
  
It had all started with that mission to P..4?..X...-653.   
She knew she had the 653 correct.   
  
She let her mind skip over the highlights. They'd arrived to a large welcoming crowd which had escorted them the 6 miles to the town square. The four members of SG-1 had been separated as each was surrounded by a shifting throng of outwardly friendly and pleasant natives.  
  
When they'd reached the town square, there had been a few toasts and welcoming greetings and fairly short speeches.  
  
The drink had been laced with something. It was initially subtle and she didn't recognize the problem… she'd just had a little trouble concentrating.  
  
And, then the 'tests' began. The Colonel and Daniel were escorted towards a building similar to a City Hall. She and Teal'c, on the other hand, were escorted to a large temple.  
  
Once inside, she and Teal'c were separated – apparently they were to undertake separate 'tests'. Teal'c was led off down a corridor while she was escorted to a small room with a narrow bed. Asked to wait, she initially sat patiently on the edge of the bed, but the fuzziness in her mind grew and she eventually lay back and stared drowsily into space.  
  
How much time passed here… she couldn't say.   
Time lost meaning.   
Her thoughts wouldn't track.   
She couldn't focus.  
  
And then, their religious leader, Mortat, had escorted her from the room and out into the central ampitheatre inside the temple. She followed while struggling with her mental muzziness. She wanted to ask questions, but her mind wouldn't stay focused long enough. The thoughts, questions and words would form, but then she'd lose the thread and her mind would drift off… momentarily forgetting her mental discontinuities.   
  
He led her quietly across to a central raised dias with what looked like a large rectangular oversized doorframe. She had never seen such a structure in the center of a temple before and she wondered idly what it signified to the local culture and religion. But then that thought drifted off just like her others.  
  
She knew something was wrong.   
It was obvious.  
But she couldn't string enough coherent thoughts together to say or do anything about it.  
  
She was barely keeping herself vertical.  
Her eyes and mind slowly moved from thought to thought.  
Some connected, some not.  
  
Mortat was talking. Not quite chanting…more like religious oratory. If he was speaking to her, she wasn't hearing a word of it. His voice became one of the distractions that her mind would light upon for a few seconds before drifting off again.  
  
A bowl of something was now in front of her.   
She inhaled the vapors and a part of her mind seemed to … to…  
No, no… she still couldn't focus her thoughts…  
but… her senses seemed heightened…  
…her vision seemed sharper…colors more vivid…objects seemed closer…  
…scents assailed her… sweet, pungent, spicy…  
…her nerves jangled and she could feel the air against her skin…  
  
Without coherent thought her mind drifted from sensation to sensation.  
  
Mortat's voice continued in its non-stop oration and she still couldn't focus on any of the words. She could hear, but she couldn't listen. But she couldn't focus enough to even get frustrated.  
  
Her mind drifted.  
  
Her eyes drifted over the objects in the room and she was vaguely aware of crowds of people filing in and taking seats all around the amphitheater. They must have some sort of event occurring shortly, a short thought flitted across and then faded when she tried to follow it. The moving people became shifting blurs as her mind drifted off.  
  
She could feel them taking her jacket and vest off of her.   
She wanted to ask why…but then… she forgot.   
She could see them placing her things on the ground alongside a stone bench.   
Trying to let them know that something was wrong, she struggled to control her arms, legs, or her voice. But…then she lost that thought too.  
  
Next, she felt herself being turned around and her arms were pulled above her head and secured to the top corner of either side of the rectangular frame.  
  
Mortat continued speaking. His voice had been a constant backdrop. She stood, half hanging from the restraints holding her arms up. Blinking her eyes to try and clear her eyes and to try and clear her thoughts. And then, the mental fugue seemed to ease, just a bit, and she took more of her weight on her feet. Her eyes focused with her mind and she saw hundreds of people seated quietly watching her and listening to the oration.  
  
Mortat was preaching. He was giving a sermon of some sort while she stood there on display. Shaking her head slowly, she tried to focus on what he was saying so that she could figure out what was going on. Putting bits and pieces of his oration together, she surmised that this was going to be her 'test.' Obviously. D'oh. She silently tried to shake more of the cobwebs loose.  
  
These 'tests' were obviously not what the previous SG teams had expected.   
  
No one had mentioned anything about what was clearly going to be some kind of torture.  
  
"….Major Carter, of the Tauri," her name caught her attention, "will undertake the Test of Fortitude…," and then he continued his sermon or oration. She wondered what the others were facing and hoped it was nothing like what she feared was coming here. She tried to speak, but either her vocal cords were paralyzed or her mind was still not completely in control, because she accomplished no sounds… and then her mind drifted… and she looked up at the restraints securing her arms and she tugged on them experimentally. They were tight and strong. The rectangular frame looked like it was built of solid naquadah. There was no way she was going to cause any damage to that. Scanning the room, she didn't recognize anyone but Mortat – and he was now moving to stand behind her. Scanning the faces of the 'audience', she was met with quiet, respectful gazes, but noone looked sympathetic nor like they might want to help her out.  
  
And then it was quiet.   
Mortat had stopped speaking.   
Her stomach clenched.  
  
SEARING PAIN and a loud snap. The whip slammed into her back and sliced through her black T-shirt and into her skin. Grunting with pain she staggered forward a half step and pulled at the straps holding her arms up.  
  
Then a solid blow landed and pain shot through her torso again.   
  
And then another blow and then the searing pain of the whip sliced into her back.  
  
She began to regain her focus as the pain quickly swept away the fuzziness from the drugs.  
  
Her vision blurred and she was barely standing as the beating continued. Solid blows intermixed with the slicing whip. She was having trouble breathing now, her back was a searing mass of pain and her torso ached.   
  
How did this prove fortitude?   
She had no idea, and she just tried to live through it.   
Surely it would end.   
Everything ends sometime.  
  
She lost track of time.   
This was one of the places where she lost the thread of normal time-space.   
She seemed to have slipped out into a different thread of reality.   
One like the replicators were trapped in.   
Where minutes stretched to days.  
  
She was hanging from the straps now.   
She'd lost her feet and she wasn't standing anymore.   
  
Eventually, it did end.   
She couldn't say when.   
  
She could feel herself drop forward – they must have released the straps holding her arms up. She was being moved and then she was laid gently face down on that stone bench next to her gear.   
  
She lay there limply.   
Unable to move.   
Only -_just_- conscious.   
  
It was hard to breathe against the pain.   
Even harder lying on her stomach.   
But she vaguely knew that she couldn't lay on her back…  
…something was wrong there.   
She couldn't remember just what.  
  
Staring in the direction that her head had ended up, she saw Teal'c walk into the path of her eyes. He didn't say a word. His face was impassive, as always, but his eyes were full of anguish and sympathy. She saw him come to her side and kneel by her shoulder. She thought he whispered something, but she couldn't hear it. She tried to give him a small smile to let him know that she was ok, but she couldn't tell if she succeeded.  
  
Pain ripped through her back.   
They were touching it with something.   
Not the whip or the club again, this was gentler and a bit cooling.   
Water? Yes, maybe water.   
Teal'c was watching her face and eyes closely, trying to give her comfort with his presence.  
  
She could hear Mortat's voice droning on again.   
And more time passed.   
Someone, (Teal'c?) continued to stroke her back and the pain continued along with the cooling sensations.  
  
Her head was clearing again and she seemed to get some strength from somewhere. She started to try to move but Teal'c gently held her down with his hand on her arm while keeping his eyes locked on hers. She quieted and put her trust in him.   
  
And then, something caught Teal'c eyes and he looked up and over her. Looking beyond him, she could see that the 'audience' was filing out.   
  
Apparently, the entertainment was over.  
  
Mortat came over and looked her in the eyes and spoke directly to her, "Major Carter, you have performed extremely well. Our people were impressed beyond expectations. I do not believe that most expected you to remain conscious throughout the entire Ytrudinal. You are a very strong individual and we await the results and remainder of the testing with great hopes for our peoples."  
  
She did not respond.   
She just returned his gaze without rancor.   
What was the point?   
The damage was already done…to her back at least.   
And she really couldn't do anything about it all right now anyway.  
She wasn't going to be jumping off this bench to shout her angry indignations at him.   
She knew that standing at all was going to be a challenge.   
  
Yelling at anyone was just going to have to wait.  
  
They allowed her to lay there for awhile longer while Teal'c continued to try and clean her back. She wondered how horrible it looked. Probably just as well that she couldn't remember seeing a mirror since they'd arrived on this planet.  
  
After awhile, Mortat returned and laid their gear on the ground near the two of them. "It is time to go back to the gate, if you are ready, Major Carter. We will rejoin the rest of your group back in the main town square."  
  
Ahhh…so now she could try and get up. This time, Teal'c did not stop her, but actually helped lift her into a sitting position on the side of the bench. Dizziness washed over her from the movement from prone to vertical. Teal'c steadied her as her heart worked a little harder to get the blood up instead of just across.  
  
"Do you think you can stand, MajorCarter?" the Jaffa asked softly.  
  
Not answering immediately, she pursed her lips and then "Well, let's give it a try and then I'll let you know," and she started to lever herself up off the bench. Teal'c actually carried most of her weight as she moved into a vertical standing position and then he released her weight slowly as she took it onto her feet and legs. Still maintaining a strong grip on her arm, he waited patiently while she stood next to him concentrating on just breathing and trying to ignore the screaming, tearing pains in her back and lower ribs.  
  
Teal'c slowly let go of her and watched her carefully. "I think I've got it Teal'c," and she took a cautious step forward without falling down.  
  
He then reached down and brought up her jacket and helped her get her arms into the sleeves. Pain seared through her back as the material settled onto her flayed skin. Holding her gun, he waited patiently for her to tell him to hand it to her. When she did, he gently pulled the strap over her head and let her take the weight of the gun. Seeing that she was set, he leaned down and picked up his pack and shrugged it onto his back. Next, he swung her pack over one of his broad shoulders and picked up his staff.  
  
"I am sorry, Mr. Teal'c," Mortat interposed, "but the testing is not complete. Major Carter must carry her own materials on the walk back to the Gate. The testing will be complete when we reach the gate."  
  
Carter shut her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. Teal'c was looking at her quietly. He would follow her lead here. He would refuse if she requested it. Or he would allow her to assess whether or not she could walk back to the gate with her pack. He respected her right to make the decision herself.  
  
She wondered what would happen if she refused. Another ritual? What did they do to those who failed? Would there be repercussions for the other members of SG-1? Would they whip one of the others and make them complete her 'test'? She looked at Mortat. What would happen if she asked him? Would she be showing weakness? Would she fail her 'test' and would that mean that one of the others would have to suffer for her failure?   
  
She didn't have enough information.   
And she was tired.   
Her back was screaming in pain.  
  
And, again, she came back to the same answer.   
She was going to have to walk out anyway.   
  
The pain was excruciating but she wasn't ready to ask Teal'c or the Colonel to carry her.   
She figured she could walk out.   
She knew she could walk out.   
  
It was just a matter of dealing with the pain.   
The pack was going to make it much worse, however.  
  
Gesturing to Teal'c, "Let's put it on," and he helped her get the pack snapped into place to the back of her vest. Finally, he lowered the pack's weight onto her slowly. She took the weight and gritted her teeth against the pain. "I think I'm could use a little Kel-nor-reem focusing help," and she gave him a small, tight smile to let him know that she was going to be able to do this.  
  
For a moment, the Jaffa did not move as he appeared to be weighing the options but then he met her eyes and held her gaze for a moment and then nodded his acceptance and respect for her decision.  
  
They walked out of the temple and then back through the town. More and more of the townsfolk joined their procession through the streets until they made it back to the town square where the Colonel and Daniel were surrounded by their own crowds.   
  
Inspecting them quickly from across the crowd, they looked allright, but it was difficult to tell. Neither of them looked hurt, but then she doubted that they would have a clue by looking at her what had happened back in the temple. Sighing, she realized that she'd have to wait until they got back to the SGC to find out what had happened to her teammates. Hopefully, it was nothing like her 'test.'  
  
Daniel and the Colonel smiled at the return of their teammates but they were prevented from speaking to each other as Mortat quickly got the entire crowd moving back towards the gate. She focused on the people around her and putting one foot in front of the other.  
  
The walk back was excruciating, but she actually found strength in her walking stride. Her legs were not injured and she was in good physical shape… or, at least, she had been…   
  
During the long walk back, she let herself drift between the questions being tossed at her by the natives walking around her. She answered their questions and allowed herself to let the familiarity of striding along give her some solace.  
  
The pain was constant and the pack was torturous. But she knew that she'd make it to the gate and still be on her feet. She'd make it back to the SGC and let them sort it out. She wondered what the higher levels and bureaucrats would think of all this back on Earth? Would they want to pursue an alliance with these people? What direction do diplomatic relations take after something like this? Were the people of Earth supposed to be honored? Was she supposed to be honored? She knew, that if this -_was_- supposed to be an honor, then it was an honor that she could have done without. Following that line of thought, however, she realized that she wouldn't have wanted any of her teammates to have had to go through it either. So, if someone had to get the short straw, she'd just as soon it was her.   
  
She started, realizing that they were back at the gate. The natives were still surrounding and milling around them all. Mortat began orating again and it sounded long and sonorous to Carter, but his people all listened respectfully. Then Daniel spoke and he must have felt that he needed to get across a lot because he went on for what seemed forever. Then the Colonel said a few words. And then Mortat was speaking again as one of his assistants dialed the gate for them.  
  
The giant ring spun and locked and then spun back and locked and then spun again and locked on each successive coordinate. The assistant touched the central stone of the DHD and the wormhole flushed outward and then settled back. The rippling surface beckoned welcomingly. Carter keyed the GDO and sent the necessary signal to the SGC and then the four of them climbed the stairs and with a look back, they stepped through.  
  
The moments in the wormhole were a comforting rush of twisting dizziness, followed by the appearance of the SGC gateroom and the exit ramp. She and Teal'c stepped out just behind the Colonel and Daniel.  
  
The Colonel took a quick glance behind him to make sure that she and Teal'c had arrived and then he quickly stepped down the ramp to join the General and some officers that were obviously waiting to speak to him. She saw Daniel following a few steps behind the Colonel.  
  
Pausing at the top of the ramp in relief, she started to get try and get her pack off her back. Teal'c was immediately at her side and he lifted the pack off her shoulders and waited while she extricated her arms from the vest. She gave him a grateful look while he set her vest and pack on the floor.  
  
==========================  
  
Back in the cave, Sam remembered that her plans to drop herself into the care of the infirmary were temporarily delayed when two gate technicians had asked her to look at some diagnostic readouts that seemed to indicate the cause of some problems they had been having the previous week.  
  
Teal'c had waited a few moments for her, but she had given him a look that told him that she'd be ok and that she'd be along in a few minutes. Trusting her, he had joined Daniel and the next time she had looked up, all of the other members of SG-1 and the General were gone. Must have been something important, but she really wasn't too curious, at least not right now. She figured that if she needed to know anything, they'd let her know. That's the way the military operated.  
  
For now, they'd completed their mission. She didn't know if she'd passed her 'test.' And she didn't know if the others had passed their 'tests.' She still didn't even know what tests they'd been subjected to or whether or not any of the others were injured.   
  
Her back was sort of numb now. Sort of.   
A sort of numb pain.   
She figured her back was a mess of cuts and bruises, but she knew that she'd live.   
She'd had worse before. Much worse.   
  
Pausing a moment before heading out of the gateroom, she turned and looked back at the Stargate. In spite of every torturous thing that had happened over the past several years, the Stargate itself still filled her with wonder. The beautiful impossible physics of its reality still caused her to stand in awe of what the universe was capable of.  
  
Turning back, she looked down at her pack and then leaned down and picked it up and trudged down the ramp. Just as she reached the bottom of the ramp, Colonel O'Keefe entered leading SG-8 into the gateroom at double time. Behind her, the gate was spinning up a new address.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 7 ====o0o====  
  
.


	8. Soldiering On

_.  
  
Turning back, she looked down at her pack and then leaned down and picked it up and trudged down the ramp. Just as she reached the bottom of the ramp, Colonel O'Keefe entered leading SG-8 into the gateroom at double time. Behind her, the gate was spinning up a new address.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 7 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**Part 8: Soldiering On**  
  
.  
  
Pain. More and more pain.  
She looked over at the flashlight. Was it getting dimmer?  
How long had she been lost in her recollections of that last mission?  
The light didn't look dimmer to her, but she really had no idea how long she'd been staring into space.  
  
Pain. The pain was radiating across her chest from her shoulder and the pain from her broken leg and knife wound was traveling down to her foot and up to her chest. The fire in her leg was also increasing. Probably the infection spreading.  
  
Slow, shallow breaths. She continued to try and keep the calm and focus that Teal'c had helped her learn during their Kel-nor-reem sessions. Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
Of course, they were supposed to be slow, measured, deep breaths. But she was doing what she could under these conditions. Deep breaths right now were not an option. So, she'd just try to control her breathing. Try to control some of the pain.  
  
How long had it been since she took those pain meds? She thought about taking a couple more. The pros and cons of relieving some of the pain but perhaps losing consciousness for her last few hours. She decided to let the flashlight make the decision. If she was still conscious when the batteries needed to be changed, she'd take a couple more pills before attempting to swap out the batteries with her one good hand.   
  
Pain, pain, pain. Waves of pain. Fire burning across her pain.  
  
Neverending pain.  
  
She tried to focus her thoughts again.  
How long had it been?  
Her memories of the past few days and weeks were muddled and fractured.  
  
Focus.  
Stay awake.  
  
The pain clouded her thoughts and threatened to take away her last few minutes.  
  
Focus on something.  
Try to unravel the jumble, try to remember.  
  
She let her mind drift back to the scene at the bottom of the gateroom ramp.  
  
==========================  
  
_Colonel O'Keefe entered leading SG-8 into the gateroom at double time.   
Behind her, the gate was spinning up a new address._  
  
And, then she couldn't believe it when Colonel O'Keefe had ordered her to fill in for his stricken teammate. She had had trouble putting words together. She remembered telling him that she was injured, but he hadn't believed her for some reason. And that was strange. She hadn't expected his reaction. O'Keefe had pulled rank quickly and ordered her to grab her pack and fall in with his team.   
  
Stunned she watched the 3 able-bodied members of SG-8 walk quickly up the ramp and through the gate. With no choice unless she wanted to disobey a direct order, and leave SG-8 a member short, she'd put her pack back on so that it settled into its normal position as she walked back up the ramp. Now, her back was on fire, and her mind was numb. She knew that she wasn't thinking clearly. Taking one more look around the gateroom, she hastened to follow SG-8.  
  
Stepping through the gate, she found the Colonel waiting impatiently for her to arrive. As soon as she was through the gate, he took point and signaled for the rest of them to fall in behind. Silently falling into line behind the others, she fumbled a bit in her pockets and took out some pain tablets and dry swallowed them. Hoping that the tablets would tamp down on the fire and pain in her back, she tried to find that Zen of Walking…letting the strength of her conditioning and training carry her along. Now that she was here, she wanted to be able to lend help and assistance to any of SG-14, or SG-8, if they needed it. Even Colonel O'Keefe…she sighed internally.  
  
And then it started raining. Not a light spring rain. Not a warm tropical mist. No, this was cold, driving rain. She almost smiled. This -_was_- a bit over-the-top. Something in the universe was definitely twisted.  
  
When they finally found the stranded and injured members of SG-14, Sam pitched in wherever needed. She kept her vest on while helping with the belays, but the ropes still caused excruciating pain. Images of her rending flesh popped into her head and she hurriedly pushed them out. Making herself focus on the task at hand. Trying to use the pain to help her focus.  
  
They had to pull two of the SG-14 members up off the steep hillside-cliff. After getting them up the hillside, they tended to the injuries of the other two members of SG-14 and then they quickly packed up and picked up the two stretchers and headed back towards the gate. Each member of SG-8, with Sam, had one end of a stretcher. The footing was slippery and more difficult to negotiate heading downhill while carrying a stretcher. The rain did not let up and the fading light quickly bled away into the night.  
  
The pull and jouncing weight of the stretcher on her arms was tearing at her back with each step. The rain and dark kept anyone from noticing that anything was wrong with her and, besides, she knew that there was no one else to take her load. She wouldn't give up carrying the wounded SG member unless she passed out.  
  
Her back was screaming in agony and her muscles felt like they were being shredded. Again, she forced herself not to think about what her back must look like by now. She was still walking, so it couldn't be all that bad, right? Right. Mmmhhmmmm…  
  
Again, she lost track of time. They slogged through the trees and the forest litter and the driving rain in the dark. Her back was a constant flaming agony. Perhaps the fire from her back could provide a little light for them to see their way? No, that wouldn't work, she'd have to walk backwards and twist her head around. Uh oh, her thoughts were getting pretty weird, and that scared her more than the pain. Was she starting to lose it? She was feeling feverish, but she figured that was from the apparent fire in her back… Infection? Could it have set in so soon? So soon…….how much time had passed? Was it too soon? Or…..   
  
She just didn't know.   
Put one foot forward.   
Put the other foot forward.   
Then the next foot.   
Then the next foot.   
Step. Step. Step.   
Ignore the pain.   
Ignore the pain.   
  
That was not working.

Okay…how about, Use the pain?   
Use the Pain?   
Great idea….but how and what for?   
Use the pain for focus.   
Use the pain for determination.   
Use the pain…   
  
She was losing it….Okay, think about the poor guy on the stretcher. Focus on him. The injured man had a broken leg, broken collarbone, probable concussion and several broken ribs. Looking down at him, she could see that he was grimacing with each jolt of the stretcher. He was in much, much worse shape than she was…and he wasn't complaining, now was he? Okay, this would work. This was pulling her mind off the screaming pain in her back and shoulders.  
  
"Major," she called to the injured man," and he focused his eyes on hers. "We're almost… there. You're going… to be warm,… dry and in… Doc Frasier's hands… in no time."  
  
He gave her a weak grin in reply and then his face contorted in pain as the stretcher jolted hard in their grasp as the man in front slipped a little on the wet muddy ground. Sam had to work hard so that they didn't drop the injured man into the mud.  
  
"You know," she continued to the injured man, "You probably…… should have…… signed up for…. the easier A-ticket rides,….. I'm not sure…. that I would have….. chosen the E-ticket…. thrill rides,…. if I was in your……. shape," she tried a little humor and was rewarded with a stronger smile in return from him.  
  
Step, jolt, pain.   
Step, jolt, tearing pain.   
Step, jolt, tearing burning pain.   
Step, jolt, pain.   
Pain. Pain. Pain.   
The Stargate must have been moved.   
Or Colonel O'Keefe was a little lost.   
Step, jolt, stumble a little as a rock under her foot twisted, ooohh…twisting made the tearing pains even more intense.  
  
"So, Major," she spoke to the injured man again. She knew that they both needed the distraction, "beings that… you are a… … captive audience,… .. how about if… … … I tell you… … about the mission….. that we went on last month……..where the Colonel. ..and Daniel… …were painted purple… … … by the natives of P1X-926?" Seeing the humor and encouraging look on his face, she spent the rest of the walk amusing the injured man with the story of their mission to 926.  
  
When they finally reached the Stargate, they were all completely soaking wet and the rain simply ran down their bodies as the storm continued. She was shivering from the cold while she was sweating from the fire in her back.   
  
They dialed Earth and could not connect.   
They tried again and still could not get through.  
  
"Sir, the SGC gate is probably in use, so, perhaps we should try to get to the Beta Site and then we can gate home when they finish whatever they are dealing with now?" She suggested to Colonel O'Keefe.  
  
O'Keefe nodded and gestured to his Lt. to follow her suggestion. A few minutes later and the gate whooshed open and they had a beautiful blue rippling pool of reflection waiting for them. She sure hoped it wasn't raining at the Beta Site.  
  
They picked up their stretchers and stepped through the gate to the Beta Site.  
  
-------  
  
Once at the Beta Site, they took their SG-14 charges directly to the infirmary building/tent. The medical personnel swarmed over the injured men as Sam and the members of SG-8 were pushed out of the way. With everyone busy with the more seriously injured, Sam debated whether to find a chair to sit down on to wait until someone could look at her back… or whether she should scare up some dry clothes in the meantime. Sitting around in these wet and cold fatigues sounded miserable. Her decision was helped along by one of the nurses who shooed them all out of the infirmary and told them to all go and get showers, clean dry clothes, some food and sleep, and then they could come back to find out the status of the men that they had rescued.  
  
Following SG-8 out of the infirmary, the men headed to the male barracks and Sam headed to the quartermasters for some clean, dry clothes. After securing the clothes, she headed to the female barracks and stripped off the wet, muddy clothes – all except the black T-shirt and her bra. She knew that she'd have to let the doctors deal with that. The other dry clothes were wonderful… pulling them on, however, required that she stretch her back, and that caused more agony.   
  
And, then she let herself sit on the bench for a few minutes. Dry. Well, mostly dry. A lot drier than she was a couple of hours ago. And it was quiet here, too. Dry and quiet. Out of that driving rain. She wondered how many hours had passed since SG-1 had arrived on 653. It seemed like a week ago.   
  
She was tired. Very tired. Exhaustion washed over her and she wanted desperately to just sack out on one of the empty beds in the barracks. But she knew that she needed to get someone to look at her back. Probably needed to start on some antibiotics, too. And, they could give her some -_real_- drugs for the pain. That sounded -_real_- good.  
  
Picking up her stuff, she walked slowly back across the compound and back into the infirmary. The medical personnel were still busy with all of the members of SG-14 and it looked like another couple of SG personnel had come in with new injuries. Watching quietly and staying out of the way, she looked for a place to wait until someone was free for her to explain things to. Eventually, she found herself sitting on one of the infirmary cots near the end of the small ward. The lighting was not fully on down here and the bed was calling to her. Finally, succumbing to the need, she lay face down and fell asleep immediately… more like passed out, actually.  
  
Sometime later (she'd lost track of time again), she could hear someone calling to her. Shaking her and trying to talk to her. But they sounded so far away, she figured that they'd come closer if they were serious about talking to her. For now, she just wanted to sleep. And then, she knew that they were taking her clothes off – she knew because of the pain that shot through her with every movement. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone for awhile. She just needed to sleep. Then they could talk to her and do whatever else they wanted. Just let her sleep for a bit. Just a little bit.  
  
The pain ripped through her. They were examining and cleaning the wounds on her back. The pain was intense. They were still trying to ask her questions, but she couldn't make out their words. She tried saying something, but all she accomplished were unintelligible mumbles and groans.   
  
The pain was intense.   
Why couldn't they just leave it alone?   
It hurt, but not as much as when they touched it.   
She'd rather they just left it alone.   
Leave it alone and let her sleep.   
She tried to tell them that, but they couldn't understand her.   
And, then she drifted off into the dark as the morphine they gave her took hold.  
  
==========================  
  
Pain. That was one of the familiar elements of her recent adventures, she mused as her eyes wandered over the shadows of the cave roof and wall.  
  
The pain she had now made that earlier back pain seem almost trivial. She knew that it hadn't been trivial. But the pain now was real pain. P A I N. One of the wonders of the human body. How there seemed to be almost no end to the ability of the human body and brain to feel pain. Pain could even be felt in arms and legs that had been amputated. Pain could be felt in limbs that didn't exist anymore.  
  
Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
Slow……. shallow……… breaths.  
  
Nauseous, and…whooooaaa…..some dizziness added to the ensemble. She was probably severely dehydrated, she realized. Perhaps she could manage a little water. Slowly turning her head to assess the position of the water bottle, she slowly and carefully moved her right arm over and laid her hand on the water bottle.   
  
Time for a rest.   
Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
OK, now, twisting the cap off and then she brought the canteen up to her face. Her hand was shaking from the effort. Some of the water sloshed out, but she finally got it to her mouth and she was able to take a few small swallows. Again, water also went down the sides of her face, but it was cool and she wasn't worried about running out. She knew she wouldn't last that long.  
  
The burning and fire seemed to have spread across her body and she couldn't differentiate the pain from her shoulder and her leg anymore. There was more of a deep aching and throbbing pain now. She wondered what that meant. She wasn't a medical doctor, so she couldn't diagnose the symptoms. But it was obviously getting worse….and she had expected nothing else.  
  
Slow, shallow breaths and she took another assessing look at the flashlight. She thought it was definitely dimmer, now, but it didn't look like it was in danger of going out immediately. Letting her eyes settle back on the space above her, she thought back to those earlier injuries to her back and the Beta Site infirmary. Dry, clean and with antibiotics and drugs, she had -_thought_- that the worst was over.   
  
And she let her mind drift away from this Go'a'uld planet and back to her memories of the Beta Site… she'd 'lost' track of some more time there…  
  
==========================  
  
She was half-awake, laying in bed in the Beta Site infirmary.   
Muzzily letting her mind drift between errant thoughts.   
Slowly, she realized that the pain was muted.   
The fire was tamped down.   
She felt heavy and her brain felt thick.   
And, then she drifted off again.  
  
Sometime later, she awoke. Truly awoke this time. She assessed… she'd rolled over onto her side… she could feel an aching pain in her back, but it wasn't overwhelming… she was tired and was probably going to fall back asleep soon… a nurse noticed that she was awake and came over and said hello, "Major, I am Nurse Chipley, how do you feel?"  
  
Why did they ask questions that they really already -_had_- to know the answers to? "Much better, thanks," she mumbled around her thick tongue and dry throat and then she coughed from the effort. The nurse held a cup for her and she sipped a little water. "Thank you," she said more easily.  
  
"Major, now that you are awake, I am going to go and get the doctor, I'll be right back," and she stepped out of Sam's sight and returned a few seconds with a young, male doctor in tow.  
  
"Major Carter, I am Doctor Lugorn," he introduced himself with a friendly smile.  
  
"Doctor," she acknowledged respectfully.  
  
"Major, we found and treated some pretty bad wounds on your back…," and he paused for her reaction, so she nodded to let him know that she was aware of them (how could she not have been?), "…I just need to make sure…do you know if you have any other injuries? We checked as carefully as we could, but I want to make sure that we haven't missed anything."   
  
"No, there shouldn't be anything else," she confirmed for him.  
  
"OK, then what we need to do next, is inspect the status of the cuts on your back and change the dressings," and he gestured to the nurse who brought over the bandages, ointments and other medical equipment. While the doctor began taking the bandages off her back, the nurse bustled around and took Sam's vitals…pulse, BP, etc.  
  
Behind her, the doctor was moving slowly and trying to cause her as little discomfort as possible. "So, Major, what mission did this happen on? I should include that in my report."  
  
"Uh…," and she stopped…the numbers and letters weren't coming to her…and they should…she tried to concentrate… "653…P4X-653," and she was proud of dredging that up. It couldn't have been that long ago, so why was it so hard to pull the planet's designation up?  
  
Aaaaaa! OW! Pain shot through her back and she flinched violently. "Sorry," the doctor spoke gently and she could hear the apology in his tone.  
  
"It's ok, I just wasn't expecting it…" she said in a low tone through the pain. There were a few more times where the pain shot through her back, but she was a little more prepared and she stopped herself from reacting very much so that the doctor could finish as quickly as possible.   
  
"Well, that should do it for now, Major," he said as he finished taping the new layer of bandages down. "You had a pretty good fever last night from the infections, but the antibiotics appear to be already taking effect and your fever is now only slightly above normal. The pain in your back is going to be pretty fierce over the next few days and we're going to put you on some strong painkillers for awhile."  
  
"When can I head back to the SGC?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"We'll probably send you back tomorrow, if possible, Major," he smiled encouragingly at her, "but I want you to realize that we will be sending you to the SGC infirmary, where you will spend at least another couple of days before anyone will be willing to allow you to go home…," he finished with an admonishing look at her.  
  
Tempted to roll her eyes at him, she just smiled a little and said, "Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate all you have done. I really felt like crap last night and you and your staff have been wonderful."  
  
He nodded in acknowledgement and he looked a little amused. "Major, you didn't come in last night, you came in yesterday….a little over 24 hours ago, actually. We've had you on some strong pain medications since we found you here 'napping' on one of our cots." He shook his head in amazement at her perplexed expression. The human body always amazed him. She'd been in a tremendous amount of pain and she'd drug herself to the infirmary, but once here, she'd just fallen asleep on one of the beds. He couldn't remember ever having a patient do that before. But, then, these SGC soldiers were a tough breed of their own. From the damage to her back, he knew that she'd walked with a full pack for many hours while her back had been continually ground up. A part of him wanted to know the details of the mission she'd been on, and another part of him knew that he really, really didn't want to know how such a beautiful woman could end up with such horrific wounds.  
  
"For now, Major, we're going to give you a little more pain medication and you need to get some more sleep," he continued.  
  
"You just told me that I've been asleep for 24 hours or so, doc!" she reminded him.  
  
"Well, unconscious might have been a more accurate term. And your body needs time to heal and recover from this trauma. So, you'll just have to humor your body and bow to its demands. The mission is over, Major. You are officially on downtime, now. You are now the property of the SGC Medical Personnel." He attempted some light-spiritedness with his patient and he was pleased to see her respond positively.  
  
"Yes, sir. Reporting for sleep duty, sir. No arguments, sir," she responded with a smile. "….tomorrow is another matter, though, doc," she promised with the smile still in place.  
  
"Understood, Major, we'll talk again later. Just let the nurse know if you need anything," and he stepped off to take care of some of the other patients.  
  
The nurse then stepped over and injected something into her IV. Seeing Sam watching her, "Just a little something to help with the pain and to help you sleep, Ma'am. When you wake up, we'll see about getting you something to eat that doesn't come through a tube in your arm."  
  
"Thank you," Sam mumbled as she drifted off again.  
  
==========================  
  
Sometime later, she awoke again.   
  
As the room came into focus, she realized that she was in the Beta Site infirmary. -_Still_- in the Beta Site infirmary, she realized as the events of the past few days filtered into her awareness.  
  
Tired. She still felt tired. And her back ached and burned a bit. The painkillers were apparently wearing off a bit. As her head cleared more, she thought about what she should do next. Perhaps, try sitting up? She was lying on her stomach, so she tried moving slowly onto one side. Not too bad…the bandages pulled tightly, but the pain in her back didn't get too much worse when she moved. Next, to try sitting up on the side of the bed. Slowly…slowly, she didn't want one of those low blood pressure dizzy spells to plant her on the floor. They'd probably tie her down to keep her from doing anything that stupid again.  
  
There. She was sitting on the side of the bed and she was pretty sure that she was going to stay there. There didn't seem to be any tendencies to collapse ungracefully in any direction…yep, she was holding it vertical. So she just sat there for a few minutes, proud of her major accomplishment.   
  
Her mind was spinning up to a more normal speed now. She was starting to think…of getting out of here and getting back to the SGC. What were the Colonel, Daniel and Teal'c doing? Did they know where she was? Colonel O'Keefe had surely told them. She wondered what had been happening at the SGC that had prevented SG-8 from being able to gate home to earth from the rescue mission. Were the other members of SG-1 involved?  
  
Her stomach rumbled and she realized that she was pretty hungry. That was another thing she couldn't remember – when was the last time that she'd eaten anything solid? The last thing she could remember, was breakfast before SG-1's mission to 653… Yep, she was going to have to investigate this time-space slippage thing that she was experiencing. There must be something to it, she thought in amusement at herself.  
  
"Major Carter??!," Captain Beckforce stopped suddenly by her bedside.  
  
"Yes, Captain?" she responded with a small smile at his expression.  
  
"Major, we were wondering where you were! The Tokra and the Colonel are going to be glad to see you!" He continued excitedly, "The Tokra have put together a mission to take out 3 Go'a'uld motherships simultaneously and they are scrambling pilots from all over. The Tokra and Tauri will fly 3 simultaneous sorties. Colonel O'Neill is leading one group, Mr. Teal'c is leading the second group and I believe that Major Ferretti is leading the third group." She listened quietly as he rattled off the information quickly.  
  
"Ma'am, I have been instructed that if you were found, and not on a mission, that I was to ask you to join up to fly on one of the sorties. I don't know to which you would be assigned, but they desperately need pilots," and he paused and waited for her reaction.  
  
She didn't respond immediately. She -_had_- wanted to know what the rest of SG-1 were doing. She just hadn't expected to have another mission presented so quickly. Taking a few moments, she assessed herself. Her mind seemed pretty clear now and the fuzziness from the pain and drugs was falling away. Her back still ached and burned as she knew it would for days.  
  
"Any idea how long the mission is to last, Captain?" she asked for more data.  
  
"Well, they should be taking off about 21 hours from now and then the flight to the mother ships will take a few hours and then it will take another few hours to fly back to base….?", he estimated for her.  
  
"Captain, I'm going to be straight with you. I'm not 100%. I have some injuries from my last mission (or two, she thought). How about if I go with you to the Tokra staging area/glider base and we'll reassess when we get there? If it turns out that they need another pilot, and they think that I can be of use, then I'll pitch in where they need me."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.  
  
"In that case, Captain, I'm going to have to ask you to go and get me another clean set of clothes and an equipment kit, gun, etc. I need everything, including boots," she instructed and then gave him her clothing sizes.   
  
"Yes, ma'am," and he hurried off.   
  
A few short minutes later, he returned and handed her a set of clothes and then said that he would assemble the rest of her equipment and bring it to the gate.  
  
After the Captain hurried off to take care of his other last minute scavenging duties, she stood up slowly and tested her legs. Standing… OK. No weaving, no listing, no dizziness. Stepping around slowly, she pulled the privacy curtain closed and slowly changed from the hospital gown into the new set of clothes.   
  
That done, she looked around her infirmary cot and her eyes spied some medicine bottles on the small tray next to her bed. Yup, antibiotics and pain meds, with her name and instructions for dosage and frequency. Pocketing the pills, she looked around for something to write on. She figured she should at least leave the docs and nurses a note.   
  
Of course, she could simply go and find one of them… they probably were just around the corner…but she knew that they'd object loudly and vociferously to her departure…especially to go off on a mission. Finally finding a prescription pad and a pen, she scribbled a note of thanks and apology to the doctor and nurses and then set the note on the center of her bed before heading out of the infirmary while mumbling to herself about time-space physics and the improbabilities of her life.  
  
Walking up to the Beta Site gate, the Captain was waiting with a large mound of materials and equipment, a couple of SF's, and two other officers. Beckforce introduced the other two officers as additional pilots that he had scrounged from the Beta Site. Carter smiled at the Captain's enthusiasm and resourcefulness. Someone had assigned the right man for this task.  
  
As they were dialing the gate address for the Tokra base, Sam thought about the few details that the Captain had related about the upcoming mission. Hopefully, she could make a better assessment of the situation when she got there. If nothing else, she was looking forward to 'touching bases' with the other members of SG-1.   
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 8 ====o0o====  
  
.


	9. Doctor's Orders

.  
  
_As they were dialing the gate address for the Tokra base, Sam thought about the few details that the Captain had related about the upcoming mission. Hopefully, she could make a better assessment of the situation when she got there. If nothing else, she was looking forward to 'touching bases' with the other members of SG-1.   
  
====o0o==== End Part 8 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**PART 9: Doctor's Orders**  
  
.  
  
After gating to P4X-157, the secret Tokra staging area for the death gliders, Sam followed the Captain to the makeshift headquarters. SGC and Tokra personnel were swarming over the base and everyone was in a hurry. She and the other two pilots followed the Beckforce over to a clump of officers crowded around a recognizable battle-staging table. There were maps, star charts and asundry paperwork scattered all over the large table.  
  
Catching the group's attention, the Captain spoke to the senior officer, "Colonel Sergreem, I was able to find 3 more pilots at the Beta Site," and he gestured respectfully at Sam and the other two officers.   
  
"Major Carter!" Col. Sergreem gave her a broad grin, "Are we glad to see you! Where have you been?"  
  
"It's a long story, Colonel," she returned wearily, but with a small smile in reply to his.  
  
"Well, we can sure use your help, here. Has the Captain brought you up to speed?" Sergreem inquired.  
  
"We've only had time for the basics, sir. I understand that you will be staging an attack against 3 motherships simultaneously…that the Tokra have devised some kind of enhanced warheads…and that you are looking for all the pilots that you can lay your hands on…"  
  
"Yes, that's pretty much it in a nutshell," the Colonel confirmed. "Captain, take care of getting the two Lieutenants into Sortie 3, and let's slot the Major into Sortie 2."  
  
"Yes, sir," Beckforce responded.  
  
"Major, FYI, Sortie 2 is Colonel O'Neill's mission," the Colonel shared with a small smile.  
  
"Thank you, sir," she replied. "Um, and sir, there's something you should know….I sustained some injuries to my back on a previous mission. I'm…sort of AWOL from the infirmary…"  
  
Scrutinizing her more closely, he narrowed his eyes and noticed that her face was pale and that she definitely didn't look like the healthy Major Sam Carter that he was used to seeing around the SGC. "Can you fly?" He asked for her assessment.  
  
"Yes, sir. And to be honest, it sounds a lot better than walking with a pack on…," she smiled ruefully, and he wondered what was behind that. "I'm taking some antibiotics and they had me on some pain meds that I think are pretty much out of my system now. If you have a medical setup somewhere here, I'd like to get some bandages changed before we head out?"  
  
"Good idea," he agreed. "And, Carter, when was the last time that you ate something?" He knew how much her time was in demand and he had been in the commissary enough times listening to O'Neill grouse about his 2IC's lack of ability to make sure that she ate and slept enough. Sergreem also knew that Major Carter was always on call to deal with problems and issues with the Stargate, that she was the first person who they asked to figure out newly discovered alien technology, and that she still somehow managed to go on real missions with SG-1.  
  
At that she looked guilty, "Well, sir, I'm not exactly sure, but I do think it's been awhile." She hedged the answer, not wanting to admit that it had been several days. Unless he was willing to count the IV…  
  
Nodding his head when he got the answer he was suspecting, "Captain, take the two Lieutenants to the airboss for Sortie 3 and then escort the Major to the doc at the infirmary. After the doc has checked her over, show her to the commissary and then report back to me," and then he turned back to her, "And, Major, after you've had something to eat, report back to me and we'll get you set up in a ship."  
  
"Yes, sir," both Sam and the Captain chorused.   
  
As she turned to follow the Captain, she turned back to the Colonel, "Sir, if I may ask, where is Colonel O'Neill?"  
  
"He hasn't arrived yet, but we are expecting both he and Teal'c to come through the gate at anytime," he replied with understanding at her request.  
  
Capt. Beckforce next led her to the impromptu medical tent where he waved at the doctor who was going through some medical supplies. "Doctor Cooper, Major Carter would like to speak with you."  
  
"Captain. Major," the doctor greeted the two officers.   
  
"Doctor," Sam returned and then turned to her escort, "Captain, I'll probably be here for a little while, so why don't you go and take care of yourself for awhile. Get some clean clothes and something to eat."  
  
"Ma'am, the Colonel instructed me to…"  
  
"Captain, I am sure that the doc, here, can give me instructions to find the commissary after I'm done here. I'll meet you back at the command tent, Captain," she gave him a gentle smile to help him accept her orders.   
  
"Yes, ma'am," Beckforce still looked a bit reluctant, but he also really did want to get a shower and a clean set of clothes….  
  
"It's allright, go on," and she gave him a gentle push towards the door, "Give a lady her privacy," with her small grin still in place and the young officer finally let himself head out the door.  
  
"So, Major, what can I do for you?" Doctor Cooper inquired.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the doc, "My back was injured on a previous mission and I need the bandages and dressings changed. I also need to get some pain meds to help a bit, but I need to make sure that whatever it is, that I can still fly. I'm going to pitch in as support on one of the Sorties."  
  
"Allright then, how about if you step back here and take off your jacket and shirt and let me take a look at the damage and we can go from there," and he gestured to a privacy screen in the corner as he handed her another of those ever-present hospital gown-tops.  
  
Obediently stepping behind the screen, Sam gingerly took off her jacket, the movements necessarily flexing and stretching her back muscles and tightening against the tape holding the bandages in place. Getting the T-shirt off was more difficult, but she managed by simply taking it slow. And, she didn't have to worry about a bra as the Captain hadn't obtained one when he'd gotten clothes for her back at the Beta Site - but she wouldn't have put one on anyway…She figured it would be several weeks before her back would be able to handle the pressure of a bra strap. Finally slipping the hospital top on so that it opened along the back, she stepped back around to let the doc know that she was ready and found that he was watching for her. The look in his eyes told her that he'd been assessing how long it took her in order to figure out the extent of the damage before he saw it.  
  
Breaking his gaze, "Ready, doc." She wanted to get this over with.  
  
Nodding, he pointed at the nearest cot, "Lie down here and we'll take a look at it."  
  
Obediently, she lay face down on the cot and he pulled the privacy screen over so that they were out of view of anyone walking into or through the infirmary. Next, he opened the back of the gown to take a look at the dressings and she heard his sharp intake of breath. "Major! What the hell happened here?" He was stunned at the extent of the bandaging. Her back was completely covered in overlapping bandages and a few of them were actually wound all the way around her midriff for security.  
  
"Just a few souvenirs from SG-1's last mission, doc," she replied into the thin infirmary pillow. She heard him sigh in exasperation and then she could feel him start to tug at the bandages. She tensed herself for the pain that she knew was coming. She knew that he would try to be as gentle as was possible, but she also knew that he wouldn't be able to make it painless.   
  
It took nearly 10 minutes for him to cut off and remove all of the bandages. When he was done he was horrified at the extent of the wounds. Her back was a mottling of sickly yellow, green and purple bruises criss-crossed by welts and cuts…some of which had been stitched up. Carefully, and trying to be as gentle as possible, he cleaned and sterilized the wounds and then applied some antibiotic ointments. Next, he re-bandaged with clean, dry dressings. She was quiet throughout his ministrations. She tensed and flinched occasionally when he touched or pulled on something and he knew that she was in considerable pain, but she didn't say a word.  
  
Finally finished, he sat back and considered what to say. She really should stay right where she was until they could get her back to the SGC infirmary. Unfortunately, he was a military doctor, and he knew that he was there to support the military operations in progress…and he knew that they needed every available pilot… that they needed every possible ship in order to pull off this hastily assembled offensive against the Go'a'uld. Doctors throughout the ages had wrestled with these conflicting priorities.  
  
"Doc?" his patient inquired, wondering why all of the movements had stopped.  
  
Sighing, he responded, "All done, let me help you sit up," and he helped her up so that she was sitting on the side of the cot. "Why don't I help you get your T-shirt and jacket back on and then we'll talk about what's next."   
  
"I'd appreciate that," she replied gratefully and her lack of argument told him quite a bit about how she was truly feeling. With her still sitting on the side of the cot, he stood behind her and helped her get the T-shirt and jacket back on.  
  
Moving around to face her from the front, he slid the privacy screen back to the side. He sat down on the cot across from her so that they were facing each other and could see that she was patiently waiting for him to speak. "You and I both know that in normal circumstances, I would ground you. There is no way you'd be flying – or even walking out of here, to be honest. I should give you a sedative and confine you to bed rest for at least the next 24 hours." He watched her face closely and she didn't react, she didn't try to object, she just waited for him to continue.  
  
"Major, Doctor?" the Captain had returned. He looked refreshed after a shower and a clean set of clothes. "When I didn't find you in the commissary, I thought I'd swing by and see if I could escort you from here when you are finished?"  
  
Smiling at his enthusiasm, the doctor turned to him, "Captain, why don't you give us another 15 minutes or so and then we'll let you know what's next?"  
  
Beckforce's face showed his concern and puzzlement, but he acquiesced, "Yes, sir," and turned and left them alone again.  
  
Turning back to his still quiet patient, "I'm going to ask you to run through some mobility movements and stretches so that I can get a better assessment of whether or not you can deal with the flight controls." Seeing her nod her acceptance, he kept her sitting on the cot while directing her through sets of movements while he watched and measured her range of motion – and he watched her face very carefully to try and gauge how the pain was affecting her. But she kept the pain from her face.  
  
"Allright, Major, I'm going to have to let you go. I don't want to – I -_really_- do not want to," and he made sure that he could see the comprehension in her face, "but they need pilots too badly for me to confine you to a bed here. I know full well, that you are undoubtedly AWOL from the SGC infirmary and I figure that you already have at least one of my colleagues very, very pissed off at you." She couldn't keep a little guilt from showing on her face in response to his fairly accurate deduction. The only thing that he'd gotten wrong was the location of the infirmary.  
  
"However, you did make it here, and now that you are here, I know that I can't ground you when they need pilots so desperately." He was repeating himself a bit here, but he wanted to make his point. She respectfully remained quiet and let him state his peace.  
  
"You need to stay on these antibiotics that you have," and he passed the bottle of antibiotics back to her. "You can't take these pain meds while flying," and he held up the bottle of pain pills that she'd brought from the Beta Site, "so I'll get you some that you can take to take some of the edge off the pain in your back. You won't be able to take much, because you'll need to maintain situational awareness in the cockpit." He wasn't telling her anything that all pilots weren't fully aware of but she didn't interrupt or object.  
  
"There are 18 hours before you takeoff. You will get at least 2 square meals – which I will watch you eat right here," and now she started open her mouth to object, "This is NON-negotiable, Major," he didn't give her a chance. "I -_will_- ground you if I have to," and she didn't say whatever had been on her lips.  
  
"After you have eaten, I will accompany you over to Colonel Sergreem where I will fill him in on your situation. I'll give you about two hours to get your mission information and instructions and then you will present yourself back here to get at least 8 hours of sleep. After that, you can join up with your group and I'll step out of your way – until you get back. You will present yourself to me, personally, when you return. At which point, you will be grounded, Major. No discussion, no debates. Understood?"  
  
Her brow furrowed a bit at his completeness, but she simply nodded. "Yes, doctor," she gave him and he was proud of the respect that he could hear in her voice.  
  
"And, Major, if I do not see you here after you return from the mission, I will personally conduct your next major annual physical…," he threatened. Rolling her eyes, she grinned a little for him and "Yes, doctor," came at him again in a rueful voice.  
  
The Captain returned just then and the doctor instructed him to fetch a tray of foods for the Major and to bring it back to the infirmary. Worried, Beckforce asked, "Um, ma'am, are you allright? Will you be able to fly?"  
  
"Yes, I'll be able to fly, the doctor here just isn't ready to let go of my scintillating company," and she flashed him a smile. "Captain, have you had a chance to get something to eat yet?"  
  
"Not yet, ma'am," he responded.  
  
"Well, then, why don't you pick yourself up some lunch, dinner or breakfast – whatever the time is here – and bring it over and join me? Otherwise I'm going to be eating by myself while being watched by the doc here," she invited.  
  
"Yes, ma'am, I'll be back in a few minutes," and then he called back over his shoulder, "and it's between breakfast and lunch right now, ma'am, so I'm not sure what they'll have available."  
  
"Anything is fine, Captain," she sent after his retreating figure.  
  
He returned about 10 minutes later with 2 trays of steaming military food. Guaranteed to fill you up even if it would never be served in any fine restaurant. The two of them sat amicably eating in one corner of the infirmary tent while she plied him with questions about the upcoming mission.  
  
Thirty minutes later, they all trooped over to the command tent where they found Colonel Sergreem speaking with another group of officers. He looked up expectantly as the threesome approached and a look of concern appeared when he realized that the doctor had felt it necessary to escort the Major on her return from the infirmary.  
  
"So, doc, what's the verdict?" He decided to waste no time.  
  
"Major Carter has extensive cuts and bruises covering her back," and he held up his hand as the Colonel immediately began to ask more questions, "I am clearing her to fly, but only on a few conditions." Going on to spell out his conditions, he made it clear that he expected nothing but compliance. He had the authority to ground her and they all knew it.   
  
"Allright, we'll see to it that Carter complies with everything that you've spelled out doctor," and he gave her a sympathetic look. "Captain, if you would take Major Carter around and get her kitted out, and then take her to Captain Wilson. Major, you will join Capt. Wilson's squad. They will set you up with a plane and bring you up to speed on the flight plans and everything else that you need to know."  
  
"Yes, sir," she and the Captain responded.  
  
Watching them go, the Colonel watched as his Captain immediately began talking animatedly to the Major as they exited the tent. "There goes another one," he said in a low, quiet voice of admiration.  
  
"Another what, sir?" the doctor asked.  
  
"Another SGC officer smitten with Carter," and he grinned and raised an eyebrow at the doctor. "It only took, what, a couple of hours? That young man is quite beside himself."  
  
"She did invite him to have lunch with her," the doctor provided, and then seeing the questioning look on the Colonel's face, he added, "I ordered her to eat lunch in the infirmary so I could make sure that she ate a full meal."  
  
"So, doc, anything else you can tell me? Like how she got injured in the first place?" he asked.  
  
"She didn't give me any specifics, she just said that it was from her last mission with SG-1 and that it had been a few days ago. The rapid-fire events of the past few days, coupled with hopping to different planets each in their own time zone, so to speak, and she's sort of lost track of the exact timing of everything. I expect we won't get it all sorted out until these missions are over and we can all get back to the SGC and compare notes."  
  
"But she's going to be OK to fly, right?" He persisted.  
  
"Her back is covered with bruises, welts and cuts," he went into more detail now for the Colonel than he had when the Captain had been present, "Some have stitches that she received at the Beta Site. They also got her started on antibiotics and she's still got a slight fever, but I think that she's beating that. Her entire back is covered in bandages and dressings. She's in pain, sir, but she seems to have a clear head and her range of motion will allow her to pilot a ship. I've given her some very mild painkillers that she can take over the next few hours and then on the flight back after the mission objectives are complete," he paused and then he continued. "When she returns for the rack time that I've required, I'll give her a mild sedative. After that, and another square meal consumed in my presence, and I will release her to you."   
  
"Understood. And, thanks, doc. You are taking good care of her," he let the obviously worried doctor know that they appreciated his efforts and the ethical quandary that he faced.  
  
==========================  
  
Back in the present, lying in the cave, the pain brought her out of her memories.  
  
She took a few shaky breaths.   
She was finding breathing more and more difficult.   
Her breaths were rattling in and out of her lungs.   
She wondered how high her fever was.   
  
Looking over at the flashlight, she could see that they were very dim now.   
They wouldn't last much longer.   
She knew that if she was going to try changing the batteries, that she'd have to do it soon.  
  
Slow…painful…shallow….painful….breaths….  
  
Screwing up the courage to try to change the batteries, she decided to take a couple more pain tablets before tackling the flashlight. Again tearing open the packet with her teeth, she let the tablets drop into her mouth and then she negotiated the water bottle so that she had a little water to help swallow them.  
  
That done, she rested.  
  
Slow….painfully slow….shallow….ragged…painful….breaths….  
  
Breathe…just breathe…..concentrate on the air in……and the air out…..  
  
Her meditation practice with Teal'c was helping her concentrate and maintain her focus, although she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.  
  
Turning now to the flashlight, she got the spare batteries laid out right next to the light. She carefully planned her next moves. She would leave the flashlight turned on as she unscrewed the top. The light would go out and she'd have to dump the old batteries out and put the new ones in one-handed… and in the utter darkness.   
  
Slow…painful…breaths….and her body shuddered from the pain, the fever and the chills. Pain wracked through her and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, willing the rip tide of pain to pass and to die down to just a raging fire.  
  
Slowly, the pain abated a bit. Not much, but it was enough that she felt relief across her body.   
  
Slow, shallow breaths.  
  
It was now, or never, she decided and she picked up the flashlight and unscrewed the top. The dim light winked out leaving her blind in the oppressive darkness.   
  
Carefully, she pried the old batteries out. Moving her hand back to where the spare batteries were, she picked one of them up and felt the battery terminals in the flashlight and then on the battery. Orienting the battery correctly, she snapped the first one in place and then repeated the procedure for the rest of the batteries.   
  
Now came the hard part, screwing the flashlight back together with only one hand.   
  
Bracing the flashlight against her tortured thigh, she bit back the pain, and tried to seat the flashlight top onto the threads and then she slowly turned the top. She felt the threads grab and then the light winked back on. Much stronger than before and unbelievably welcome after the pitch black.   
  
Sighing in relief, she lay back and let the flashlight lay along her side, sending its light at the wall in front of her. She didn't care. It was back on and she could see enough that she didn't feel blind.  
  
Lying there, she went back to concentrating on breathing and tried to ignore the raging fire and pain that was threatening to consume her.   
  
She let her thoughts drift back again to their mission against the 3 mother ships…  
  
==========================  
  
She'd followed orders to the letter. Capt. Beckforce had helped get her kitted out for flight operations. She'd met with the airboss for Sortie 2 and received directions and flight information and plans. Next, Beckforce had taken her to meet with Captain Wilson, the commander of the squad that she was joining.   
  
"Major Carter, it is an honor to meet you," Captain Wilson greeted her.  
  
"Wish it were under better circumstances, Captain," she returned with a slight grin.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. But we all feel very lucky that you will be joining our squad, ma'am," Wilson continued. "And, ma'am, as you are the ranking officer, I officially hand command of Viper squad over to you."  
  
"No, son, you are retaining command. I am just here to pitch in. I was injured on a previous mission and am in no shape to take command of your squad from you. You know your men, you'll lead them. I'll just try and keep up with you young bucks," she informed him.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," and she could see the pride in his eyes in response to her words.  
  
The four members of Viper Squad had then spent the two hours going through flight plans, flight operations, rules of engagement, emergency contingencies, etc. Finally, they wrapped it up and headed off to get some rack time.  
  
Sam found Captain Beckforce waiting for her as the squad meeting wound down. Seeing her looking at him, the Captain came over, "The doctor sent me to escort you back to the infirmary, ma'am," he told her apologetically.  
  
She rolled her eyes and he chuckled a little before he could stop himself. "No problem, Captain, the last thing I'm going to argue about is some rack time right now. Lead the way."  
  
"Major?" Captain Wilson called from behind her, "Um, Major, I..um…I would like to speak with the doctor regarding your injuries…since I am the squad leader, I feel that I should know a bit more before we head out…?"  
  
She regarded him quietly. He was right. He should speak to the doctor about any of his team – he should know what he was dealing with. Normally, he wouldn't have had to even ask, but then, normally, he would have rank on all of the members in his team. "Of course, Captain, why don't you come along with us," and she gave him a look of encouragement to let him know that he was handling his command properly.  
  
Sighing in relief, Wilson fell in beside them as they walked over to the medical tent.  
  
The doctor looked up as soon as they entered. "It's about time, Major. Any longer and I was going to send a few SFs after you…," but she knew he was joking – they weren't that much past his original time estimates and demands.  
  
"These two Captains sufficed just fine, doc," and she turned back to Beckforce, "Captain, thank you very much for all of your consideration. I appreciate everything that you've done."  
  
"Thank you, ma'am," and he left reluctantly.  
  
"Doc, Captain Wilson here is leading the squad that I'm joining. He'd like to get the lowdown on my medical status before we head out. While you two gentlemen are talking, where do you want me to get settled?" Sam asked.  
  
"Right over there would be fine," and he pointed at the cot furthest from the door and against the back wall. "It should be fairly quiet and you can pull that screen over for some privacy."  
  
She also noticed that it was the portion of the medical tent that would be the hardest to escape unseen from. She met his gaze and saw his complete understanding in his grin and raised eyebrow. Rolling her eyes again, she stepped towards the back of the tent, "You don't need to worry about me, doc, sleep is at the top of my list of priorities right now. Captain, don't let the doc keep you up too long, you need some serious rack time too," she warned him with a smile as she turned and left them to talk about her.  
  
"There are meds that I want you to take, you'll find then next to the bed," the doctor sent after her.  
  
She remembered swallowing the tablets and then pulling off her boots, but that had been it…then she'd just crashed out face down on the cot and fallen into a deep sleep.   
  
Sometime later, she felt someone holding her arm and she swam towards consciousness to see the doc taking her pulse. Finished with that, and seeing that she was watching him, he moved the blood pressure cuff onto her arm and took her BP before speaking.  
  
"How do you feel, Major?" he asked.  
  
"Peachy, just peachy," tumbled out before she thought about it. Jack O'Neill was a bad influence and she saw the doctor's look of disbelief. And then she realized where she was. The secret Tokra base. Oh, yeah, they had a mission to fly in a few hours. Looking back up at the doctor, she realized that he was watching her closely.  
  
"Feel a little stiff and sore. Back hurts a bit," she admitted because she knew that she wasn't telling him anything that he didn't already know.  
  
Looking a bit disappointed at her less than informative response, he asked her to sit up and he slowly ran her through the same set of movements that he had earlier. Satisfied that nothing was worse, he took her temperature again. While she was sitting there with the thermometer in her mouth, her young escort appeared again.   
  
"Good to see you up, ma'am," Capt. Beckforce smiled at her.  
  
"Thank you, Captain," she mumbled around the thermometer.  
  
"Major, the doc has instructed me to get you another tray of food from the commissary. Any requests?" he solicited.  
  
She shook her head 'no', "Anything is fine. And, Captain, I would be honored if you'd join me again, if you haven't eaten of course. You'd be saving me from eating here self-consciously under the doc's scrutiny."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," the young man replied and set off happily to the mess hall.  
  
"Careful, there, Major," the doctor cautioned as he took the thermometer from her and examined its readings.  
  
"What..?" she asked in confusion, worriedly looking at the thermometer.  
  
Seeing her puzzlement and where she was looking, he shook his head, "Your temperature is now basically normal, the antibiotics are doing their job," and he paused for a moment while she looked at him quizzically. She'd been following his instructions to the letter and didn't know what he was warning her about.  
  
Smiling at her, "The young Captain there appears to be a bit smitten with you," he elaborated. At first, she showed no reaction, it was as if she were frozen, and then her brow furrowed a bit and her eyes widened and then she shook her head negatively at him. "No, doc, I think you've got that wrong, he's just young and enthusiastic. You should have seen him at the Beta Site. Whoever tasked him for his position did a great job of fitting him to something that he does extremely well."  
  
"Uh huh," was all the doctor returned so she looked away uncomfortably. He smiled at her again, shook his head and left her alone while she finished getting ready to head out.  
  
A few minutes later, the energetic Captain returned with 2 full trays of food and they sat and ate while making amicable conversation. The young Captain was obviously in awe of SG-1 and its legends, but she didn't want to spend her time regaling him with those stories, so she asked him to tell her about himself instead. The time passed quickly for both of them and soon she was giving the doc her thanks for his time and efforts.  
  
"Just remember what I told you about reporting to me personally when the mission is completed. I meant what I said."  
  
"Yes, sir!" she replied with a grin as she headed over to the hangars to join up with her squad as they worked with the air crews to get the planes flight-ready.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 9 ====o0o====  
  
.


	10. Rough Passage

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_

Author's Notes: The following chapter's continue Sam's recollections. It's the direction that my muse took me and I actually like the results of having the events retold with more details and from a more personal point of view. I apologize to anyone who finds this repetitious or boring...

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* * *

_

Back to the story...

.  
  
_"Just remember what I told you about reporting to me personally when the mission is completed. I meant what I said."  
  
"Yes, sir!" she replied with a grin as she headed over to the hangars to join up with her squad as they worked with the air crews to get the planes flight-ready.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 9 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**PART 10: Rough Passage**  
  
During the rest of their preparations, she didn't see either Colonel O'Neill or Teal'c. Apparently, the ships carrying the heavy warheads were housed in another hangar, and her SG-1 teammates hadn't arrived yet anyway. And, when they did arrive, just a half hour or so before they were due to depart, they were being taken directly to their ships.   
  
So she didn't get to see either of them before the mission started. Well, at least she'd be there to help cover their sixes and she took some comfort in that.  
  
Sortie 2 had ten planes to cover the Colonel's ship with its naquadah payload. Their ten cover planes were split into two squads of 4 and one pair of two. Their designations were Viper Squad, Gator Squad, Falcon Escort, and the Colonel was designated Bear One. As they formed up around the Colonel's ship above the planet, they called out,   
  
"Falcon One, check; Falcon Two, check"  
  
"Gator One, check; Gator Two, check; Gator Three, check; Gator Four, check"  
  
And then her squad, "Viper One, check; Viper Two, check; Viper Three, check," and then she chimed in "Viper Four, check"  
  
Next she heard the Colonel, "Bear One, check. Allright, folks, you know the mission. We're on radio silence from here on out. Good luck to all of you, and if I don't get another chance to say it, you are all the finest. Now let's go and Kick Some Go'a'uld Butt! Falcon One and Two, lead the way," and she smiled at his voice. It was good to hear his words too. Comforting to know that some things hadn't changed in what had seemed a very crazy universe over the past few days.   
  
Yep, she was back where she belonged, covering the Colonel's six.  
  
The next couple of hours passed quietly as they flew around and between some asteroids and moons for cover while approaching their targets. They were controlling their speed so that they would, hopefully, strike all three targets simultaneously.  
  
Unfortunately, Sortie 2 was not able to fly in unnoticed and they were met with a group of Jaffa gliders set on defending their god. The space around the Colonel's ship turned into a maelstrom of 3-dimensional high-tech knife-fights as ships slashed through space. Over the next 10 or 15 minutes, Sam took out 4 Jaffa ships, one of which was just about to take out Captain Wilson from behind. Circling back around to rejoin the group after pursuing the last one she'd blown away, she saw a Jaffa glider lining up a clean shot on the Colonel's ship.  
  
Screaming into her radio, "Colonel, at your 5-o'clock! Break hard right, NOW!" Gauging it carefully, she aimed her plane between the Colonel's ship and the attacking Jaffa ship. Holding her breath, she turned her ship…just so….hoping to take the blast on the strong right strut.   
  
The sharp jolt was accompanied by a bright explosion outside her cockpit and she jerked from an electrical shock as something shorted out inside. Spots filled her eyes, and her ship skittered up and away from the remaining planes protecting the Colonel.  
  
Waiting a few seconds for her vision to clear, she tried to assess the damage. Her plane was tumbling drunkenly out of control. Well, she had been hit…. so she was actually, very, very lucky. Testing her controls, she found that the main engines were offline and that she only had sluggish control over the thrusters. With patience, she managed to stop the plane's drunken roll and take stock of where she was.  
  
Looking up, she saw Captain Wilson off her starboard wing. "Major, we're clear of Jaffa for now. Bear One is intact and we are assembling for the final run. What's your damage?" he called over their team frequency.  
  
"Main engines are down, but I have life support and some control over the thrusters. I'm out of the mission, Captain. You go and join back up and make sure that Bear One gets to its goal," she ordered.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he replied reluctantly but respectfully, "And what about you?"  
  
"I think I can land this bird, so I'll head down to the planet and try to land near the Stargate. I have the maps…so, you never, know, Captain, I may actually beat you home," she tried to make it easier on him. No one ever wanted to have to leave someone behind. It was hard enough when a comrade died in battle and you had to move on. But if a comrade was injured or disabled, the credo was "No One Is Left Behind."   
  
All well and good to believe that it could be that way, but they all knew it wasn't true. There were times when you had to leave people behind. Because the mission came first. The mission always came first. It was their duty. They were doing their duty for all of the folks back home. So that Earth could be free of domination from evil such as the Go'a'uld. And sacrifices had to be made along the way. The truth was, that occasionally, someone did have to get left behind. But no soldier wanted to be the one who had to make that decision and be the one who had to do 'it'… leave someone behind.   
  
Most never had to face that awful reality. Major Sam Carter had faced it before. A by-product of working on SG-1, she figured. She'd had to leave the Ambassador behind with the Aschen in order to prevent them from launching a bioweapon. She'd hated the decision, but she'd done her duty. And it haunted her. Just like countless soldiers before her over the ages, she knew that she'd done the right thing for the greater good, but, it still haunted her. She'd had to abandon him. It sucked, plain and simple.  
  
And, now, she had to help Captain Wilson do the same thing to her. She had to try and make it a little easier on him because she knew what he would live with afterwards if she didn't return through the gate.  
  
"Captain, I need you to promise me that you will look after the Colonel. I've served with him for almost seven years now and I owe him my life several times over. I can't protect him now and I need you to do it for me. Get him to the objective and then get his ship back to base. Understood?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he replied respectfully, but she could hear the torment in his voice.  
  
"I meant what I said, Captain, I can land this ship and I will be coming back through the gate. You can ask Colonel O'Neill after you RTB, but SG-1 has been through a lot worse before and we'll be OK this time," she paused for a second. "It's been an honor flying with your squad, Captain, when we get back to Earth, I'd be honored if you'd let me fly some training flights with you and your team," she finished.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied again. "It's been an honor flying with you too. I'm going to hold you to those flights back on Earth, ma'am."  
  
"You got it, Captain, I'll see you back on base. Good hunting, Captain, this is Viper Four, signing off." She gave him a wave through the cockpit window and he waggled his wings at her before peeling off her starboard wing and rejoining their group.   
  
Assessing the situation herself, she couldn't see any remaining Jaffa gliders and it looked like they'd lost 4 of their 10 escort planes. The Colonel's ship was still in the center of the formation that was heading on the last run of its objective. Sending her silent support and best wishes their way, she turned her attention towards controlling her recalcitrant ship. She had some sort of control, but it was like piloting a tugboat on ice. The controls would overshoot or stick…or stick and then overshoot. She was making constant corrections as her ship wobbled towards the planet below.  
  
She did get it down….but it was more of a crash than a landing. But then, as they say, 'Any landing that you can walk away from is a good landing.' And she could walk. No broken bones, although she had some bruised ribs. The only significant damage had been another electrical short and surge through the cockpit on impact. She'd had electrical shocks before, actually several times since joining the SGC… But this was more severe than most that she'd experienced. Her body jerked and jolted uncontrollably as the current shot through her body. When it stopped she immediately passed out, slumped over the damaged control panel.  
  
When she woke up sometime later, she checked her watch. She estimated that she'd been unconscious for about half an hour. Moving carefully, she checked for injuries. Nothing seemed broken. She had some bruised ribs… Her back was on fire, but that was nothing new. What was new were the burning sensations along her right arm and leg. And it was accompanied by the distinctly unpleasant odor of burned insulation, burned electronics, and she feared, burned flesh. The material of her jacket and pants were scorched and blackened. She decided not to investigate that any further at the moment.  
  
Pulling on the cockpit release, she pushed the damaged cockpit up and out of the way.   
  
==========================  
  
She'd been on the move for 8 hours straight. After getting herself oriented with the map, she estimated that she was roughly 40 clicks (or roughly 25 miles) from the Stargate. The infection and fire in her back was not tamped down by the antibiotics….but then, they probably hadn't realized that they needed to include a sticker on the label that said something like 'for maximum effectiveness, restrain from all offworld excursions that include a military backpack and strenuous physical exertion.'  
  
Her injuries to her ribs were actually the most bothersome this time. Pain lanced through her torso with every step she took….and she'd taken a lot of steps. Keeping her eye on landmarks and her map, she figured that she'd covered roughly 18-19 miles so far. That left 6-7 miles to reach the Stargate….and if the terrain didn't change much, she should make it there in another 3-4 hours.  
  
Stopping near the top of a low rise, she carefully matched the features on the map to the shapes of the mountains and rock formations that she could see above the trees. Roughly triangulating her position, she confirmed her earlier rough estimate….yep, she had roughly 6 miles to get to the gate.   
  
Pulling her binoculars out of her pack, she carefully mapped out her route through the terrain ahead while glancing back and forth between her map and the view in front of her. She tried to pick out the Stargate itself, but there was a low ridge and trees obstructing her view.  
  
Resting for a few more moments before pushing on, she took stock of herself. The bruises on her back were aching and the cuts were oozing again. She'd probably pulled several of the stitches loose. The bandages were soaked – with a combination of sweat and blood and puss. She was glad that she couldn't see it, actually. Her ribs…well…a couple of them might actually be broken, she had to admit….they had hurt a lot more than she figured that bruised ribs had a right too. Her right arm and leg….were sending her constant burning sensations….but weren't that bad….she figured they were only second degree burns.  
  
On the plus side, she had no other broken bones. She had antibiotics for the infected wounds. She had some painkillers….but she couldn't take much until she got back through the gate. Then she planned to take as many as they would allow…or even better, she'd just take some of the doc's best stuff, straight through an IV. And, she fully intended to fulfill Doctor Cooper's orders and head straight to his ministrations as soon as she returned to the Tokra base!  
  
Back to the plus side….she hadn't died on impact. She was able to walk. She was making pretty good time considering her injuries. She'd apparently crashed in this world's late morning and this world apparently had long hours of daylight, so she hadn't had to hike in the dark yet. Dusk was only just starting to settle now and that might actually be an advantage. The cover of darkness might help her scope out the situation around the Stargate.  
  
Looking back the way that she'd come, she let her mind wander for a few minutes. She couldn't see the crashed glider anymore. She'd lost it behind a traversed ridge hours ago.   
  
Flash!   
  
Something winked in the distance.   
  
An intense reflection off something metal.   
  
There it was again. And it was moving.   
  
Grabbing her binoculars, she brought them up and searched the terrain behind her.  
  
Jaffa! And there were a lot of them. Following her trail.  
  
Watching carefully, she estimated that there were 20-30 of them and they were roughly 5-6 miles behind her.  
  
Quickly turning back to the terrain leading to the Stargate, she scanned it with different eyes…this time looking for any signs of movement. Seeing none, she returned to watching the Jaffa behind her. They were moving faster than she could.  
  
Running the numbers through her head, it was going to take her roughly 3-4 hours to reach the Stargate and the Jaffa behind her were moving faster than she could at roughly 3-4 miles per hour…..the Jaffa had roughly 11-12 miles to reach the gate…and at their present pace, that would get them there in…roughly 3-4 hours.   
  
It was going to be a race to the gate.  
  
Quickly stuffing her canteen and other materials back into her pack, she moved off the rise and started down the other side at the fastest pace that she could manage.   
  
Trying to run scenarios and possibilities through her mind, she was disappointed at the lack of positive outcomes that she could realistically imagine. She was in no shape to outrun the physically fit group of Jaffa. She'd had no prior indication of any sign of pursuit or discovery….she'd seen no planes or ships during her descent into the planet. She'd seen no indications of indigenous sentient life. She didn't have time or provisions to try and Escape and Evade for months into the wilderness. With her injuries, she'd simply set the simplest bearing back to the Stargate….they had to know where she was headed….which meant that they most likely had a group of Jaffa waiting at the Stargate.  
  
But she had no choice but to go and assess the situation before trying to find some other option.  
  
Pain was lancing through her side with each jarring step. Her quicker pace was forcing her to breathe more rapidly and that was adding to the pain in her ribs from her footfalls as she moved quickly downslope.  
  
Options? What options did she have? Very, very few. There was no time to try and rig any traps. She didn't have her P90….all she had was a pistol and some spare ammo for it. She was kitted out as a pilot…she wasn't kitted out as a foot soldier. Firepower was definitely not on her side.  
  
Options? She could only see two. One, beat the Jaffa to the Stargate and hope that there wasn't a group of them waiting for her. Or two, head away from the gate and try and lose the Jaffa…spend who knows how many weeks living off the land and then hope that the gate was left unattended so that she could leave sometime in the coming weeks or months. Unfortunately, she knew that option had no chance in hell of working… she seriously doubted that she could manage to suddenly and completely fool the Jaffa behind her into losing her trail. There were too many of them and she was injured. She also realized that her injuries, especially the infection, would not allow her to spend weeks in the woods alone. She'd never make it.  
  
So, right now, there was no feasible Plan B. There was only Plan A. Head to the gate at the best possible speed and hope that she got there before the Jaffa.  
  
Back to the plus side…she had to try and find something positive….what was positive? And then a thought occurred to her and she quickly jerked her head up and scanned the sky. OK, this was definitely a positive….there were no Jaffa ships overhead running aerial searches for her. She hadn't heard or seen any planes the entire time she'd been here. Too bad, though, that she hadn't heard the ship that brought the Jaffa who were behind her…if she had, she might have been able to keep a larger distance between her and them.  
  
Back to the plus side, though…at least she had seen them when she'd stopped for reconnaissance on the top of that ridge…. Otherwise, she'd still be moving a bit slower, and they would have definitely caught her before she reached the gate.  
  
And another plus, the twilight on this planet was long and a small moon was rising, so hopefully, she wouldn't be moving in complete darkness over the last few miles.  
  
Next positive?...The silence stretched and she listened to her own ragged breathing and the pain from her ribs and back started to move to the forefront again….   
  
Positives?   
  
She wasn't dead, yet.   
  
And she smiled grimly.   
  
Yet.  
  
Sweat was running down her face. Her back was on fire and the pack, small as it was, was a grinding torture. Pain continuously lanced through her chest.   
  
Just….keep….moving….  
  
Just….keep….moving….  
  
Time to distract herself….she wondered, for the 20th time since leaving the Colonel and Viper Squad…she wondered how the rest of the mission went. She wondered if they'd succeeded in destroying the mothership? Did the Colonel return safely? Teal'c? Captain Wilson?  
  
And, where was Daniel, anyway?  
  
Pain!...Just…keep…moving…pain, thud, pain, thud, pain…almost comforting in that as long as there was pain, she knew she was still alive. And she could still care about, and worry about, the other members of her team.  
  
Just….keep….moving….  
  
------  
  
"kkkkttthhhhhttttttkkkkkk"  
  
Sam threw herself into the underbrush and took cover. Holding very still, she listened for intently.  
  
"kkkksssssppppttthhhhhttttttkkkkkk"  
  
She couldn't see anything moving.  
  
Click, click, click.  
  
What the…? Aaaggghh…her radio! She stared at it in disbelief. She'd tried it shortly after extricating herself from the crashed glider, but she'd forgotten about it since then. She'd left it set on emergency receive power only…but she'd done that only because it was standard operating protocol for downed pilots…she hadn't expected to actually ever receive anything through the radio.   
  
She pulled the radio out, but did not speak into it. She'd wait a few minutes and if nothing happened, she'd turn the radio off and return to her trek. If it was picking up some stray radio signals, she couldn't have it give away her position to the advancing Jaffa behind her.  
  
"Major Carter, this is Captain Wilson, are you there?"  
  
She was stunned. She hadn't expected them to actually authorize a rescue mission.   
  
"Major Carter, this is Captain Wilson, please reply."  
  
"Wilson, this is Carter," she hissed into the radio. "What is your status?"  
  
"Major, good to hear your voice, ma'am. We are right in front of the Stargate. We have a 12-man party of pilots and Tokra ready to help get you out of here. Where are you ma'am? And do you have any additional injuries?" he replied.  
  
Her head spun a little. She almost couldn't believe this was real. Was she delirious? Thoughts slammed through her head. The Jaffa did -_not_- hold the Stargate. The Jaffa were not lying in wait ahead of her. She truly had not believed that the only Jaffa were the ones behind her. A rescue party! Relief and deep feelings for them swept through her. Wilson had apparently grabbed who he could and come charging through the gate as soon as he could. She briefly wondered where the Colonel was and felt a pang of fear at the thought that he hadn't made it back with the rest of Sortie 2.  
  
But pilots….and tired pilots at that! She had to get them get out of there. She hadn't heard or seen anything from the Jaffa behind her, but she knew that they had to be catching up to her. Captain Wilson and his pilots were not trained in ground combat and they wouldn't have the firepower or the training to hold the Stargate from a Jaffa attack.   
  
"Captain, I want you to follow these orders carefully. Leave any extra armament, and supplies that you brought, cached behind the Stargate. Leave something so that I will recognize where the cache is. Then take your men and get back through the gate. There is a group of several dozen, well-armed and pissed Jaffa hot on my trail. I am going to head away from the gate and will try to lose them and then I'll try to make my way back to the gate after a few days or so," she sent back.  
  
As she waited for his reply, she started moving again. Staying where she was -was not an option.  
  
"OK, Major. Here's the situation," Wilson sent back, "None of my men are willing to just leave you here," there was a pause. "So, here's what we need, ma'am, we need you to tell us where you are and you need to tell us how to blow the hell out of those Jaffa so we can all go home. I know it's not fair, but we're not getting out of here if you don't give us a hand. Otherwise, we're going to just follow our noses and we'll probably get everyone killed."  
  
Shit! He wasn't leaving her any options and he knew it. This was a bad enough situation already and now some good pilots might die trying be heroes saving her.  
  
She didn't reply immediately, she just picked up her pace. Her breathing became ragged again as she tried to sort out some possibilities that included the fewest body bags.  
  
Finally, she sent back, "Wilson, …..I am …..going to …..kick …..your butt ……all the way…….to the Asgard galaxy …..and back!"  
  
"Yes, ma'am," came his reply.  
  
"Allright, Captain," she continued, "I am approximately 8 clicks (kilometers) north-northeast of the gate. There are approximately 20-30 Jaffa spread out a few clicks behind me to the northeast. I am going to swing slightly north and then head slightly southwest up this north-trending ridge line. If you take your men along the ridgeline and set half of them on one side and half of them on the other, we might be able to catch the Jaffa by surprise as they come over the ridge after me."   
  
"Yes, ma'am. We've got the ridgeline sighted ma'am and we're headed up."   
  
"Allright, Captain, you have about a half-hour and then you need to find defensible positions with cover on both sides of the ridgeline. With about half of you on one side and half of you on the other, make sure that you have overlapping fields of coverage so that no Jaffa can slip through."  
  
"Do you have any claymores?" she inquired.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Lots actually," came back.   
  
"Good. Set a line of them just below the ridgeline and on either side and be ready to blow them when needed. Set some others in a roughly east-west direction just to your south so that you can blow them as you fall back," she directed.  
  
"Understood, ma'am," he replied.  
  
"Allright, I'm going to sign off for a bit while I beat feet up this ridge. Let me know when you've established your position. You'll need to send a man or two out towards me to read the terrain so that you can give me markers so that I can lead them into your set-up."  
  
"Will do, ma'am. We'll be ready for you."   
  
A little over a half hour later: "Major, we're in position. I am sending two men out to scout the terrain so that we can guide you in," Captain Wilson sent to her.  
  
Scrambling uphill now, she couldn't reply right away. When she had set her direction at an angle up the hill, she was able to return, "Roger, Captain, as you start feeding me landmarks, let me know how close they are to your set-up. I am going to let the Jaffa get real close to me when we come up on you – we need them moving fast and not looking at the terrain. We want them fixed on me – we don't want any of them to see anything amiss before you let all hell break loose on them."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Wilson replied.  
  
And then she was running and dodging trees and rocks. Two of his men were calling out markers for her to look for and follow. Positives? The small moon was full and was providing enough light for her to follow their directions, and dodge rocks and trees without breaking her neck! How was that for a positive? Oh, and here was another positive – the trees weren't so thick that they blocked the light!   
  
FLASH! CRACK! And smoke. Flying bark stung her face and arms. A staff blast had hit the tree just to her right. The afterimage of the staff blast screwed up her night vision and she just ran forward as fast as she could. Following the mental map that she had in her head of the terrain ahead, she prayed that this was going to work.  
  
She had tunnel vision now. Running as fast as she could, zig-zagging through the trees and the rocks. The pain in her back and chest were in their own dimension now. She was focused solely on moving as fast as she could, not getting shot and leading the Jaffa into the waiting trap.  
  
Duck right, around the tree. Step over that rock. Step on the next one. FLASH! Duck left! Stinging tree bark shrapnel. Right. Left. Sweat was running freely down her face. No time to pull her pistol. It would be worthless anyway. There were too many of them.   
  
Right of that tree, around the large rock…  
  
And then she saw the large sawtooth rock that one of Wilson's point men had described. Shifting her course a little to take her approximately 100 feet past its right side, she burst over the top of the ridge and almost freefell over the slope on the other side.   
  
Someone grabbed her and she slammed to the ground, knocking most of the air out of her lungs. Turning over, she faced back as the Jaffa came charging behind her. Wilson had his men hold their fire until the Jaffa were almost on top of their positions. Then he signaled for them to fire at the same time that the claymores on either side of the ridgeline went off. Everyone was showered with flying dirt, tree limbs, rocks and other debris. 

The Tokra had handed her a P90 and she slipped right into their formation as they egressed down the ridgeline. When they had passed the cross-ridge line of claymores, Wilson took out most of the remaining Jaffa with the cross-ridge line of claymores.

They made it to the gate, dialed it up and started diving through with only sporadic fire from a few Jaffa peppering them. One of the remaining Jaffa, however, scored a final hit when a staff blast hit the side of Captain Wilson's leg just before he stepped through the gate.

Tumbling out of the wormhole, they found a scene of semi-organized chaos as the rebel base was being prepped for evacuation. They watched the open gate for pursuit, but none came and the wormhole shut down.  
  
Sam turned to the men who had risked their lives to save her and she shook her head, "I owe you all my life. You pulled that off like trained special ops soldiers. You all impressed the hell out of me." The various Captains and Lieutenants all smiled at the praise.  
  
"And, Captain Wilson, as soon as your leg has healed, I am still going to personally kick your butt across the galaxy for disobeying my orders and attempting such a stupid mission!" She stated with mock gravity and a semi-serious glare.  
  
"Just glad that you'll have the chance ma'am. You know that Colonel O'Neill would have done the honors if we didn't bring you back, so I was going to get that trip across the galaxy one way or the other!" and he grinned at her.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 10 ====o0o====  
  
.


	11. Tokra

_.  
  
"And, Captain Wilson, as soon as your leg has healed, I am still going to personally kick your butt across the galaxy for disobeying my orders and attempting such a stupid mission!" She stated with mock gravity and a semi-serious glare.  
  
"Just glad that you'll have the chance ma'am. You know that Colonel O'Neill would have done the honors if we didn't bring you back, so I was going to get that trip across the galaxy one way or the other!" and he grinned at her.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 10 ====o0o====  
  
_.  
  
**PART 11: Tokra**  
  
.  
  
The Tokra base was a hectic melee of evacuating personnel. All able-bodied pilots and ships were being refueled and refitted to lift off ASAP. All other personnel were being evac'ed through the gate and onto a couple of Tokra cargo ships. The medical tent had already been disassembled, so Sam was not be able to complete Doctor Cooper's orders after all. Sam and Captain Wilson were steered over to the care of a young corpsman/medic in the midst of the shifting milieu of personnel and equipment being rapidly ushered through the gate.  
  
"Ma'am, Sir," the corpsman immediately began scanning them to assess and prioritize their injuries.  
  
"Take care of the Captain, first, Corpsman," Sam ordered. "He took a staff blast to the right leg." Wilson opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly cut him off, "That's an order Captain. I've made it this far, I can make it a bit further – thanks to you!," and she softened her words with a smile.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," the Captain acknowledged with respect.   
  
As the corpsman began cutting off Wilson's trouser leg, "Captain, I'm starving, how about you?" she asked.  
  
"I could go for a thick steak, ma'am," he gave back with a grin which quickly became a grimace when the corpsman began slathering on some kind of ointment over his wound.  
  
"Sorry, sir," the medic apologized. "My triage won't take much longer. They'll clean it properly and fix you up back at the SGC."  
  
Clenching his teeth while the medic continued working, the Captain simply nodded.  
  
"Allright, let me see if I can scare us up a snack of some sort while we wait for our turn to head out," Sam continued while watching the medic work. "I'll be right back."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Wilson managed as she disappeared into the shifting crowd of evacuees.  
  
==========================  
  
"Samantha Carter!" Sam turned and looked to see who was calling her name through the shifting confusion. "Samantha Carter?" - and there was a Tokra waving at her through the crowd. She stopped and waited as she approached. She tried to place her face….she looked familiar….yes…. Pelnak…and his host was….Yishu. She had met them around a year ago when SG-1 were on one of their infrequent visits to the Tokra base-du-jour.  
  
"Pelnak, Yishu," Sam greeted them when the Tokra reached her.  
  
"Samantha Carter!" the Tokra repeated while skidding to a stop in front of the Major.  
  
"Yes?" Sam waited while trying not to allow her impatience show on her face. The fire in her back and the aches and pains in her ribs, arm and leg were sending her messages that she should look for a place to sit down.  
  
"We have been looking for you," Pelnak explained. "You are needed, please follow me," and the Tokra grabbed her left arm and began tugging Sam out of the crowd.  
  
"Pelnak!" Sam objected as she pulled her arm from the Tokra's grasp. "You are going to have to explain a little more than that! I am hungry and injured and overall – pretty cranky right now! I am not going to just follow you off to who knows where without more of an explanation than that!"  
  
Startled, the Tokra stopped and appeared to truly look at Sam for the first time. Pelnak's eyes quickly scanned her dirty face and uniform…grimacing when she took in the burns on the arm and leg. "My apologies, Major Carter, I was so focused on… and seeing you was so unexpected…I did not think…I apologize."  
  
Anxiety welled up in Sam and she asked quickly, "Is my father OK?"  
  
Again looking startled, Pelnak paused for a second and then replied, "Selmak and Jacob are well, as far as I know. I have not heard anything to indicate that they are otherwise."  
  
Relieved, Sam relaxed. A feeling of complete weariness washed over her body and coupled with the pain from her injuries, she doubted her ability to continue standing calmly talking during the evacuation.  
  
Watching her face closely now, Pelnak took in the paleness and strain of her features. "Samantha Carter, if you follow me to the waiting cargo ship, we can look after your injuries with a healing device whilst I explain how we need your assistance," and Pelnak gestured towards one of the waiting Tokra ships.  
  
Looking back towards where she had last seen Captain Wilson, Sam saw the young pilot being assisted up the steps to the waiting gate. Well, at least the Captain was going home… she took a little comfort there. He'd been a hero for her and it helped to know that he'd get home safe to the SGC. Turning back to Pelnak, Sam nodded her acquiescence and walked over to the cargo ship with the Tokra woman at her side.   
  
==========================  
  
Once on the cargo ship, Pelnak led her through the shifting maze of hastily stacked equipment and harried Tokra. "Hufgul!" Pelnak called to a man who was tending to an injured woman's leg. Looking up at her quickly, he turned back to his ministrations and gave instructions to the Tokra assisting him.  
  
Standing up and turning to Pelnak, "How may I assist you?" The Tokra healer was already looking Sam over critically.  
  
"Hufgul, this is Major Samantha Carter of the Tauri," Pelnak introduced.  
  
"You are well-known amongst the Tokra, Major Carter," the doctor gave her a small nod of respect.   
  
Sam shrugged in embarrassment and waited for the topic to move on to something else. "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Major Carter is injured and needs your healing assistance," Pelnak informed him.  
  
"Yes, I see there appear to be some sort of burns on your arm and leg, are there other injuries as well?" the Tokra inquired.  
  
"Well, I think I have some bruised ribs, and there are some cuts and bruises on my back which are infected. Probably took a good whack to the head as well," Sam ran down the list. "I've been taking some antibiotics for the infections, but I don't think that they've been given a fair chance to be truly effective." Sam wasn't even sure that the Tokra healer would understand human antibiotics, but she figured she should tell him what meds she was on anyway….   
  
Hufgul's face was furrowed in concentration as he listened to the recitation of injuries that he hadn't guessed at. When she stopped, he took her over to a partitioned portion of the cargo ship and motioned to a bench for her to sit on. "I will return in a few moments with the materials to clean your wounds," and Sam nodded as he and Pelnak departed.  
  
Sitting on the bench, she felt the weariness overcome her again. The minutes passed slowly and the healer did not return. Giving in to her exhaustion, she slowly lay down on the bench and allowed her eyes to close. She was asleep immediately.  
  
==========================  
  
Aaaaagggghhhh!....just let me sleep!   
Just a little more sleep and then we'll do that next mission.   
Kill the next Go'a'uld!   
Be right there!   
  
Just a little more sleep though.   
Go away!   
They were pulling at her.   
And it hurt!  
  
Asaaaaaagggggggh!   
She couldn't stop the groans of pain as she tried to mumble to them to stop.  
  
She rose through the fuzzy fog that held her and she was dimly aware of someone taking her clothes off. Painfully! Couldn't they do it more easily than that? She got dressed and undressed every day and it didn't hurt! What was their problem?  
  
And she slipped back down into the fog.   
She could hear muted voices.   
Were they talking to her?   
She struggled to understand.   
Or maybe she didn't want to understand?   
Just fall back into the dark….  
  
Lights and blurred images swam in front of her.   
If they would stop moving, it would make it easier…..  
  
And then it was all sharp.   
The faces were sharp.   
The light was sharp.   
And their voices were clear as a bell.   
The voices and light hurt her head.  
  
She was in an infirmary of some sort. Doctors and nurses were working on her. She blinked and tried to say something…and all that came out was another unintelligible mumbled groan.  
  
"Samantha Carter," Hufgul was speaking to her. "We are cleaning your wounds and removing the old bandages and burned fabric from your wounds on your back, arm and leg. When we have cleaned the wounds, I will use a healing device to assist your recuperation."  
  
Well, that sounded good.   
Very good.   
And Sam let them continue working on her without protest.   
She slipped back into unconsciousness without worry.  
  
==========================  
  
When she awoke the next time, her head was much clearer. The fuzziness was gone. She looked around. She'd been moved to a sleeping pallet in another room in the cargo ship. There were several others asleep on pallets aligned in rows.  
  
And she could feel a vibration in the deck plating below her.   
They were in flight.   
No longer on the Tokra base planet.  
  
Again, she had no idea of how much time had passed since she'd stepped aboard the ship. Another spell of unconsciousness to further warp her personal space-time fabric. She found herself smiling perversely in the dim lighting.  
  
Slowly she decided to test her arms and legs…and back. Moving her right arm, she was surprised to feel no sharp pains or burning sensations….and the same went for her right leg…. Gingerly, she touched her ribcage and was surprised to feel no answering stabbing pains.  
  
And for her back…she was actually laying face up! And for the first time in what-seemed-like-forever, her back was not on fire. The throbbing pains were gone.  
  
And then it came back to her…the healing device! She lay back and relaxed. She remembered Captain Wilson being led to the gate and she hoped that his injuries had been as well taken care of.  
  
And then she drifted back to sleep.  
  
==========================  
  
"Major Carter," Pelnak was gently shaking her shoulder as Sam focused on Yishu's face above her.  
  
"Mmmm…wha….?" Was all that Sam could manage as the sleep cleared from her.  
  
"You have been asleep for hours and we are nearing the transfer point. I must bring you up to date on the assistance that we need from you," Pelnak continued while helping Sam sit up and lean against the bulkhead.  
  
"Pelnak, I told you to wait until I had had a chance to check over her health status," Hufgul interjected.  
  
With a guilty expression, Pelnak defiantly responded, "We do not have enough time left. We will reach the transfer point in less than an hour and I must explain."  
  
"Yes, yes," the healer responded reluctantly, "but first, I will speak with Major Carter and assess her physical status, then we will get her some nourishment. You may discuss things with her while she eats," the healer compromised.  
  
Nourishment! That sounded tasty! But she knew that she shouldn't complain…she was lucky to be alive…and even luckier that they had treated her with the healing device. Not to appear ungrateful, but she just wished they had spoken -_to_- her, instead of about her when she was sitting right in front of them.  
  
Under the healer's directions Pelnak moved off to get some 'nourishment', while the healer turned his attention back to Sam. "How are you feeling, Samantha Carter?"  
  
Well, at least that was a nice start. "Like you performed a miracle, doc," she replied gratefully.  
  
"Your wounds were severe; however, I believe that we were able to heal them for you. You body will still require sleep to finish the healing, however." Do all doctors get trained in saying that? But, she couldn't deny that he was right, either. She was still very tired and she figured that she could probably spend the next few days napping without many complaints on her part.  
  
The healer inspected her arm, leg, ribs and her back. He asked her to move her arms and legs and gently stretch her back under his direction while he watched and studied her range of motion and her face for any indications of pain.  
  
"Unfortunately, I fear that you are to be asked to assist with another upcoming assault against the Go'a'uld.. After you eat and speak with Pelnak, I will speak with you again before you leave."   
  
"Thank you again, Hufgul," Sam said sincerely.   
  
==========================  
  
While she ate, Pelnak outlined what he little knew about the planned assault where they requested her assistance.  
  
"I do not know the details, Major Carter," he began. "What I do know is that there is a Go'a'uld planet where there are several targets which we plan to take out simultaneously. There will be several dozen Tauri along with many Tokra in this large operation. Your assistance was requested because of your knowledge of Go'a'uld technology and Go'a'uld facilities….as well, as your experience with Naquada reactors…," and he paused, looking at her for her reaction or for any questions.  
  
Sighing, "They probably want me to blow something up," Sam responded cynically.  
  
"I believe that you are correct Major," Pelnak replied simply. "I also believe that they wish for your assistance because you work well with both the Tauri soldiers and the Tokra. We do not always find it easy to work together."  
  
She smiled at that. Pelnak was correct and it was nice to hear one of the Tokra admit it in a manner that did not blame the Tauri.  
  
"Surely you have many Tokra who could blow this stuff up as well as I can," she inquired with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, but the Tauri are not as comfortable with our operatives as they are with you. You are trusted by your fellow soldiers, Samantha Carter. We feel that this operation will work best if the operative in question is allowed to lead; however, the Tauri soldiers have shown reluctance to follow Tokra leadership," Pelnak elaborated.  
  
Sam knew that Colonel O'Neill was largely responsible for that impression amongst the Tokra. And the Colonel had not been subtle about his opinions either.  
  
"The overall operation will be led by the Tauri as the Tauri are providing most of the manpower. The Tokra operatives will be split amongst the Tauri groups and the Tokra will provide support, knowledge and assistance. You will get specific details and information from the mission commander when we arrive at the staging area," Pelnak concluded.  
  
"I will provide whatever assistance I can, Pelnak," Sam assured him as she finished the food in front of her. Tokra food was not on her list of favorites, but she had been hungry enough that it hadn't mattered this time. She was just grateful she hadn't been stuck with energy trailbars or MRE rations. The Tokra food definitely didn't taste like chicken…of course, it might have been better if it had….  
  
"Twenty minutes until we arrive at the transfer point," a Tokra that Sam didn't know stepped over and spoke to them and then stepped quickly away.  
  
"We will ring-transport down to the planet below and use its Stargate to travel to the staging area," Pelnak explained. "You must go and speak with Hufgul quickly before we depart."  
  
==========================  
  
Outfitted in clean Tokra clothing, Sam accompanied Pelnak in the ring transporters down to the planet. The Tokra wasted no time with small talk and immediately entered the address for the planet being used as the staging area for the planned assault mission. She quietly followed him through the shimmering blue pool.  
  
Stepping through onto a raised stone platform, she saw Pelnak rapidly descending the steps to the clearing below. She paused and took in the scene. Deja vu swept over her as the scene was not too different from the one on the Tokra glider base that she had left not too long ago. SGC personnel were all milling about in a state of organized confusion and haste. The ubiquitous, large military tents were set up along the edges of the clearing. Some were undoubtedly barracks, commissary, infirmary, communications, command, supplies, etc.  
  
Sam wondered if she would be able to get another set of clean SGC fatigues – and a new kit with a couple of weapons. Or…how about a hot shower? No, she knew that was ridiculous…but seeing all the signs of 'home' around her, her mind was drifting to things like showers and pillows and steak!  
  
"Samantha Carter?" Pelnak was standing at the bottom of the steps with a look of both worry and annoyance.  
  
"Coming, coming...right behind ya…" Sam muttered and tried to give him an apologetic smile as she moved down the steps after him. She relished in the fact that the movements were not causing any pains in her back, ribs or appendages. She was still tired, but she felt better than she had in…errr…how long…had it been…? She'd have to sit down and figure that out when there was… err… time….  
  
==================  
  
Having regained her attention, Pelnak escorted her to the mission commander. "Colonel Roberts?" Pelnak addressed the man who was engrossed in the large topographic maps laid out on a portable conference table.  
  
"Mmmm…yes?" the Colonel asked with a distracted tone and then glanced up and gave the Tokra a puzzled look.  
  
"Colonel, I have brought…," and Pelnak stepped aside to allow the Colonel to get a better look at what had originally appeared to be a second Tokra standing behind him, "Major Samantha…,' but then Pelnak's words were obscured by the Colonel's surprise greeting.  
  
"Major Carter!" Roberts stood up with a grin. "Are we glad to see you!"  
  
"Ummm… thank you, sir," she replied respectfully.  
  
"What are you doing in Tokra clothing?" he asked.  
  
"It's a long story, sir," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure it is," he eyed her knowingly, "The past week… has been… but then look who I'm telling, right?"  
  
She nodded with a small rueful grin.  
  
"Well, Major, we can surely use your help on this mission… so I guess I'm going to have to draft you…," and he raised his eyebrows for any objections.  
  
"Yes, sir," she replied respectfully again and he narrowed his eyes at her, assessingly.  
  
"You look pretty tired, Major…. but then, again… that's to be expected the way this week has gone… however… you have a reputation for overworking…, so I'm going to order you to some solid rack time before we head out," and he waited for her reply.  
  
"Yes, sir," and he got the same reply…hmmmm….  
  
Turning to his nearby young aide, Roberts ordered, "Corporal, please assist Major Carter with the procurement of a fresh set of appropriate clothing and a full kit and set of armament. The Major will inform you of any additional needs or requests."  
  
"Yes, sir," the Corporal replied.  
  
"And Major, when you are finished, please report back here and we will discuss the mission plan and objectives," he ordered.  
  
"Yes, sir," she replied again as she dutifully followed the Corporal out of the tent.  
  
Turning to the silent Tokra, "So, Pelnak, anything that I need to know regarding Major Carter's current fitness?"  
  
"Major Carter was injured when I found her during the evacuation of our glider base. I do not know the details of her injuries as one of our healers used a healing device for her injuries and provided her with clean clothing," Pelnak explained briefly.  
  
"So, her injuries are healed?" he pursued.  
  
"So I was told, although rest and sleep would be most desirable for her body to finish replenishing itself," the Tokra finished honestly.  
  
Roberts nodded thoughtfully.  
  
============  
  
40 minutes later and Sam and the Corporal returned. She still looked tired, but the fresh, clean set of BDU's gave her a good-to-go appearance.  
  
Looking her up and down, he spoke to his young aide, "Corporal?"  
  
"Yes, sir?" the soldier replied immediately.  
  
"Please escort Major Carter to our Doctor's temporary infirmary," and he saw her roll her eyes in sufferance. "The Doc is expecting you, Major."  
  
"Yes, sir," she replied.  
  
"And when the Doc is finished with you, I want to see both you and the Doc back here…," he added.  
  
"Yes, sir," and he noted the resignation in her voice.  
  
"Major…?" he questioned non-threateningly.  
  
She looked at him ruefully with a small smile, "Sorry, sir… it's just… an annoying sense of deja vu…and, well, it's the infirmary…," and she shrugged again.  
  
He couldn't help the small smile on his face, "Well, I think that you have definitely been hanging out with one Jack O'Neill too much…"  
  
He saw her smile widen a bit, "Yes, sir."  
  
"Right then, off you go," he ordered and she turned and followed the Corporal out. Roberts watched the SG-1 officer and thought about those "Yes, sirs'… and he wondered… 'She couldn't be that polite to O'Neill all the time, could she?' Naaww…  
  
==========  
  
Forty-five minutes or so later and the doctor was escorting her back to the command tent. "Sir, Major Carter and Doctor Johanssen reporting as ordered," she opened with military decorum.  
  
"Major, Doctor," Roberts replied. "Please take a seat," and he gestured at some folding chairs. After the two were seated, "So, Doc, what's your evaluation?"  
  
"Colonel, I did not have the time or the equipment to give Major Carter a complete or thorough physical…and as she was recently healed by a Tokra healing device… well, to be honest, she should be in the SGC infirmary and under observation for at least 24-48 hours and then on medical leave or restricted duty for at least a week or two…," and the doctor paused.  
  
"But…," Colonel Roberts prompted.  
  
"However…, with the lack of proper facilities and time that we have available here… I would have to say that Major Carter should be available for the upcoming mission… as long as she gets at least 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep prior to the mission," the doctor admitted reluctantly.  
  
"Allright, thank you then, Doctor," the Colonel replied and then instructed, "I'd like a written summary of your findings and recommendations as soon as possible and then you may continue with your other work and preparations."  
  
"Yes, sir," and the doctor stood to leave. "Major, I'd like you to stop by and see me when you are ready for that rack time. I will give you something that will ensure that you actually sleep uninterrupted, in spite of all of the goings-on around here."  
  
"Yes, sir," she replied dutifully….while wondering if she were in one of those time loops like the Colonel and Teal'c were in for three months.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 11 ====o0o====  
  
. 


	12. Special Ops

_.  
  
"Yes, sir," she replied dutifully….while wondering if she were in one of those time loops like the Colonel and Teal'c were in for three months.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 11 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**Part 12: Special Ops**  
  
.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill?" Captain Heidall asked for his attention.  
  
"Yes, Captain?" he responded.  
  
"We are very close, sir. The caves are just past that small rock outcropping," and the Captain was pointing at some rocks approximately half a klick ahead of them.  
  
Nodding, Jack scanned the personnel trekking behind them. The group was walking in singles and pairs and no one was lagging behind. Everyone looked serious and determined. Even Daniel.  
  
They had been calling over their radios for the past hour and had not received any response from Carter. The returning silence weighed heavily on their minds.  
  
Ten minutes later, they were rounding the Captain's rock outcropping and they stopped short at the scene before them.   
  
It was a scene of devastation.   
  
The explosions had apparently caused several landslides that had laid waste to wide swaths of the steep hillside.  
  
O'Neill heard the Captain take a sharp breath in surprise and Jack turned to focus his look on the young soldier. The young man's face was aghast in horror.  
  
"Sir…," the Captain attempted.  
  
"It's all right, son," Jack held his voice steady, "can you tell us approximately where the caves were?"  
  
Taking in a slow unsteady breath, the Captain looked sick. "Uh…yes, sir…," but his tone spoke volumes. The young soldier had just lost hope that they were going to find Carter alive.  
  
The next few minutes were difficult for the Colonel and the Captain as the rest of the group joined them and each took on a similar look of despair, dejection and anger.  
  
"Over here, sir. The cave entrance was right around here," Heidall was pointing at a large pile of rocks.  
  
O'Neill debated trying the radio again. There was almost no chance of a response and the continued answering silence was destroying any moral that they had left.  
  
==========================  
  
"Carter?" crackled scratchily in the cave.  
  
"Carter? This is Sierra Golf One-Niner, to Sierra Golf One-Two. Respond, please."   
  
Sam couldn't take it in.   
  
She must be delirious from the fever and pain.  
  
"Major Carter, this is Captain Heidall, please respond."  
  
Sam turned her head and scanned the equipment scattered next to her on the floor of the cave. Where was her radio? But she knew that she was imagining the sounds anyway.  
  
"Sam, can you hear us?" that sounded like Daniel….  
  
She hadn't seen Daniel in…ages in this special space-time continuum that she'd entered.  
  
It was good to hear their voices, however…even if it was just a fever-induced delusion.  
  
She wondered where her radio was anyway. If she could find it, she could try calling…calling who? There should be no one left out there…. except maybe wounded and really pissed-off Jaffa and Go'a'uld. Yep, the radio was definitely a bad idea. No need to let them have a shot at her while she got in her last few breaths.  
  
And with that, she deliberately refocused on ignoring the pain and she drifted back into her reverie of the past few days.  
  
==========================  
  
They'd infiltrated the planet with cloaked Tokra cargo ships. Once on the planet, they split into teams and melted into the forest. They had detailed topographic maps, detailed building layouts and schematics and timetables for the guards and sentries. All information supplied by months of Tokra surveillance and undercover work.  
  
Sam was leading a 4-man team that consisted of herself, Captain Heidall, Lieutenant Bedford and Lieutenant Ponce. Among their several mission objectives, their last and most important was the main power plant and control center for the complex. They would get to make the 'biggest bang.'   
  
They scanned for the expected Jaffa patrols. Her team was hidden just inside the treeline and behind a small rise. A ridgeline and a steep rocky hillside rose behind them and the edges of the complex were before them.   
  
She sighed internally… she'd been correct. They did want her to blow something up. Well, at least it wasn't a sun… She shook her head and put her mind back on the task at hand.  
  
She glanced over at Lt Bedford and saw that the soldier was signaling at her… Oh, shit! Two Jaffa were behind them in the trees… and advancing on their position. So much for advance intelligence… gathered over months and months… all out the window in minutes. Argh… Probably a couple of Jaffa that had to go and take a 'whiz', she cursed mentally. And, now they were going to walk back right over her team's position.   
  
Growling under her breath, she signaled to Captain Heidall and Lieutenant Ponce to hold their positions. Signaling to Lieutenant Bedford, she dropped her pack and indicated that he do the same. Next, she waved him after her and they silently moved around the advancing Jaffa.  
  
Once she and the Lieutenant were behind the Jaffa, they took them out with quick zat blasts. As soon as the Jaffa hit the ground, the two soldiers dropped low and held still as voices approached from the facility clearing below. The four soldiers waited, frozen and silent as the voices passed by undisturbed.  
  
Glancing up and around for any more Jaffa following these unconscious two, Carter saw Captain Heidall signaling in the distance. She signaled back that the two Jaffa were down. The Captain let her know that the scheduled Jaffa patrol had passed their position on schedule. The next would pass in 12.5 minutes.   
  
Sudden movement at her side and Lieutenant Bedford's Jaffa had revived and thrown the young soldier backwards. The enraged Jaffa was on top of her before the Lieutenant's body had hit the tree behind him. With the weight of the large Jaffa crushing her into the ground and his fists pummeling her…she knew that she didn't stand a chance in a brute force contest while pinned under him. Trying to ignore and deflect the almost continuous blows, she shot him point blank with her zat.  
  
The pain ripped through the both of them and she lay stunned and semi-conscious under his dead weight. For the Jaffa, that blast had been fatal. It was his second. Only her first. So she lived and he died.  
  
Unable to move yet, she dimly felt the oppressive weight removed from her and breathing became a bit easier. Her eyes focused and Captain Heidall's face came into view in front of her.  
  
"Major?" he was whispering and asking for her attention.  
  
"Yes, Captain?" she replied fuzzily.  
  
"We need to take care of that wound, ma'am," he returned in a low voice.  
  
"How's Bedford?" she asked.  
  
"Woozy, he hit that tree pretty hard," he replied while unpacking his first aid kit.  
  
"Who's wounded?" she tried another question.  
  
"You, Major…. your leg…?" and he gestured with a grimace and she looked down to see the hilt of a Jaffa knife protruding from her right thigh.  
  
"So… that's wh…," she muttered with a furrowed brow and then turned her attention away from the knife and pushed herself into a sitting position. "First, finish with these Jaffa. I'm afraid that we're going to have to get rid of the evidence… so to speak, Captain…," sighing, she motioned for him to step aside and she gave the still unconscious Jaffa two more zat blasts and his body disappeared. Turning to the dead Jaffa next to her, she pulled herself a few feet away and then gave the Jaffa one more zat blast… and that body disappeared as well. She looked down at the ground where the two Jaffa had lain. No evidence remained, other than flattened, scuffed weeds and dirt.  
  
The Captain watched her respectfully and then stepped in with the medkit, "Major, we really need to deal with that knife wound…"  
  
She looked up at him and nodded and then looked down at the knife hilt. Steeling herself, she reached down and yanked the knife out in one quick motion. Although he'd known that they were going to have to take the knife out, he'd thought that he was the one who was going to have to do it… and he had been dreading it.  
  
"Captain…? I think a little gauze and some pressure might help slow the bleeding a little," she had dropped the knife in the dirt and had fallen back on her elbows with a grimace on her face. He looked at her and then realized that she was bleeding while he was standing there doing nothing. Scrambling forward, he pressed his hand over the wound and she jerked at the pain, but did not cry out.  
  
"Sorry, ma'am," he apologized and she did not respond. Trying to root through the medkit with one hand, he felt his other hand getting slick with blood. Suddenly, hands pulled the medkit away from him and he looked up to see Lt. Bedford sorting through the kit and pulling out bandages and other needed materials.  
  
Quickly the two men dressed the wound. She refused all of the stronger pain medications and settled for a couple of Tylenol.   
  
Sam checked her watch. They still had plenty of time for what they needed to do. They should still be able to complete their portion of the mission. Picking up their gear and other materials, they retook their former positions with Lt. Ponce. The Lieutenant quietly informed them that the patrols had passed on schedule. The next one was due in 4 minutes.  
  
Once that patrol passed, they crouched low and scurried up against the outside of the closest building. Hugging the buildings, they made their way inside one of the factories. Setting C4 as they went, they worked their way from building to building along the fringes of the complex. Although Carter had never worked with the Captain or the two Lieutenants before, the four of them worked extremely well together. Leap-frogging forward in mutually defensive positions. Sending and receiving the silent signals. Watching each others' backs.  
  
After 45 minutes of stealth and high tension movements, they egressed back to the tree line. Their next objective was further around the complex and they would have to make their way through the forest before assessing the situation and moving forward.  
  
They climbed a small ridge and were halfway down when they heard noises above them. Seven Jaffa were coming down the ridge. Whipping around, the four soldiers quickly snapped off zat blasts that silently took down 5 of the 7 surprised Jaffa. One of the last two standing snapped out of his surprise and sent a staff blast at Captain Heidall. But it didn't hit its mark… because Sam had launched herself at Heidall and knocked him out of the way. Lieutenants Bedford and Ponce were quickly zatting both standing Jaffa while she and the Captain were landing on the ground.  
  
Silence descended on the scene.   
  
The exchange of fire had only lasted a few seconds.  
  
"Captain?" Sam hissed in Heidall's ear.  
  
"Yes, Major?" he replied while pulling his face out of the dirt.  
  
"You allright?" she whispered again.  
  
"Yes, I think so, ma'am," he responded as he disregarded the bruises and scrapes that were making themselves painfully known.  
  
"Good, we need to get rid of this latest 'evidence'," and she said the word with distaste, "before they wake up."  
  
"Yes…," and he turned to look at her… "Major…?" he kept it to a strangled cry. Her left shoulder was scorched and bleeding from the staff blast.  
  
"I've had worse, Captain," she tried to grin at him, but it came out as a grimace. "Now, you need to take care of those Jaffa before we have any repeat performances of what we had earlier," she ordered him firmly.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," and he tore himself up and away from her side. Stepping over he found that the two Lieutenants were already taking care of the job and he helped finish the grisly duty. Within minutes all seven Jaffa and their weapons were gone.  
  
Looking back to where he'd left Carter, she was standing up… albeit while leaning against a tree for support.  
  
"Ponce, go up the ridge and make sure that there are no more 'unscheduled' Jaffa where those came from…Bedford scoot down the ridge and keep an eye out," she ordered quietly and the two Lieutenants quickly moved off obediently.  
  
"Captain Heidall, You are going to have to take over from here. I'll have to give you directions over the radio once you get inside the power plant," she ordered.  
  
"Major, we are not going to leave you behind," he objected immediately.  
  
"Unfortunately, son, you're going to have to," she apologized, "and I'm sorry, I know that no one wants to be the one who has to leave someone behind. It's the hardest thing that we ever have to face in this line of work. But, there's no choice here. I can't go in with you, I'll just slow you down… and I would be the reason that you'd get caught."  
  
He refused to look at her as he sucked angry lungfulls of air.   
  
"Major, Captain!" Lt. Bedford hissed as he was scrambling up the ridge at them and signaling that 6 Jaffa were coming up…. probably to check out that one staff blast. The two officers helped Sam up the small ridge where they were joined by Lt. Ponce as they slid a little ways down the other side.  
  
Carter signaled them to all stop and take cover. They couldn't afford, or win, a running firefight with armed Jaffa. They needed to rely on surprise. Settling into positions just below the small rise, they took out the first four Jaffa quickly with zat blasts just as they came over. Unfortunately, the last two were shielded by their comrades. One of the Jaffa leapt on Lt. Ponce and the second bowled into both Heidall and Bedford and they went down in a tangle of arms and legs.   
  
Turning to the Jaffa that was pummeling Lt. Ponce, and unable to get a clear shot of the Jaffa, Sam muttered, "Sorry about this Lt," as she zatted the two men. Blue electricity shot through their bodies as they jerked and spasmed and then lay still.  
  
Jumping forward, Carter quickly dragged Ponce's stunned body out from under the twitching Jaffa. When the Lieutenant was clear of his assailant, Carter quickly zatted the Jaffa a second time and the twitching stopped.  
  
Stepping back and turning to check on the progress of Heidall and Bedford, a large weight slammed her to the ground as the other Jaffa landed heavily on her. And then she was driven further into the ground as Captain Heidall landed on top of the Jaffa. Pinned on the bottom, she couldn't move and spots swam before her eyes as her lungs were prevented from expanding.  
  
Something slammed into the two men on top of her and the weights on her tumbled off. Carter rolled to her side and gasped in lungfulls of air.  
  
Looking up, she could see Captain Heidall and Lt. Ponce struggling with the remaining Jaffa. Struggling to her feet, she realized that she couldn't simply zat the struggling melee of arms and legs this time – Lt. Ponce had already been hit once. A second would kill him.   
  
She glanced around and saw Lt. Bedford struggling to his feet off to her left. She caught his eye and signaled for him to take up a position on the other side of the contest before them. Using hand signals, she informed Bedford that Ponce had already been hit with a zat blast. They would just have to wait and watch until their men were clear.   
  
Carter and Bedford watched in silence. Unwilling to say anything that might distract their comrades and give the Jaffa an advantage.  
  
The Jaffa was large. And strong. And very skilled in hand-to-hand close-quarters combat. Both Heidall and Ponce were taking a beating and the Jaffa appeared to only be occupied, not wounded or tiring.  
  
Carter holstered her zat and pulled out her combat knife. Signaling to Bedford, she moved slowly, watching for an opportunity. The men were shifting, scrambling, twisting… and… there… she leaped forward and shoved the knife into his stomach…. right where she figured his symbiote pouch would be.  
  
And the Jaffa's body jerked in pain and shock. His eyes locked with hers. With one arm he slung Heidall into Ponce and the two stumbled to the side…but, unfortunately, in front of Lt. Bedford's line of fire.  
  
With a roar of outrage, the mortally wounded Jaffa lunged at her and the two of them tumbled down the steep side of the hill…rolling and skidding uncontrollably for more than 80 yards before a large tree finally arrested their descent.  
  
It was all over in seconds. The entire skirmish had only lasted a few minutes.  
  
The Captain and the two Lieutenants peered down through the dust at the two motionless bodies below them. Heidall turned to the two Lieutenants, "Get rid of this evidence, and then meet me down there," and he turned and started sliding down to assess the damage below. Behind him, the two junior officers zatted the Jaffa into oblivion.  
  
Heidall slowed as he reached the two bodies. The Major was facing away from him, partially wrapped around the tree trunk. The Jaffa was a feet away, lying motionless and tangled in some brush. Quickly zatting the Jaffa three times, he turned back to his motionless CO.  
  
Carefully stepping over to her, he winced when he saw the horribly unnatural bend in her right leg. Definitely broken. "Major?" he asked tentatively, not truly expecting a response. Reaching over, he felt her neck for a pulse and found it to be strong, although rapid.  
  
"Whharr…rraaa…?" she let out a low moan and started to move.  
  
"Hold on there, Major, hold still," he gently held her right shoulder and grimaced at the thought of the wounded left shoulder which was currently mashed into the dirt. She stilled and struggled to focus her eyes.  
  
"Captain?"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am?" he replied as he could hear the two lieutenants coming down to join them.  
  
"What the hell happened?" she asked and he could hear the exasperation in her voice.  
  
"You took a tumble down the hill with one of the Jaffa, ma'am," he winced as he felt her shuddering from the pain.  
  
"Ahh… that explains… this tree…here… and… my leg… I presume...?" she tried to keep it light.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he replied sympathetically.  
  
She blinked and he could tell that she was having trouble staying conscious, "How much time before we are supposed to set the charges in the power plant?"  
  
He checked his watch. "5 hours 23 minutes."  
  
She nodded and blinked a few more times before continuing. "Captain, those caves that we saw a little while back, do you think that you and the Lieutenants could get me there?"  
  
He didn't answer right away. He knew what was going to have to happen. They were going to have to leave her behind. And he really had no choice now. She couldn't walk at all now. He glanced at the other two in his team and assessed the three of them. Just scrapes, bruises, and maybe a slight concussion. And he looked back at her. Her face was scratched and bloody and the way that she was blinking and squinting, he had a suspicion that she had a concussion of her own. A staff blast wound in the left shoulder. A broken leg with a knife wound in it. And, who knows what other injuries that he couldn't see?  
  
He looked at her and saw that she was watching him carefully. Truth be told, he knew that she'd rather just have them zat her into oblivion like the Jaffa that they'd just dealt with. Better that than be left here with the injuries that she had…. she'd be helpless if any more Jaffa came around. But she also knew that they would need her directions for placement of the charges in the power plant. She was the one with the expertise in Go'a'uld engineering, not them.  
  
He looked down and hung his head and clamped his eyes shut for a few seconds. He looked back at his two other fairly able-bodied comrades and saw the bleakness in their eyes. The three of them knew that they'd failed. She'd been in command… but she'd also been their responsibility. Their job had been to get her in and out of that power facility. And they had failed.  
  
And now they were going to have to leave her behind.  
  
Anger welled up inside him and he glared at the ground.  
  
"Captain?" she asked gently.  
  
"Yes, ma'am, we can get you to the caves," he replied without looking her in the eyes. He couldn't face it, not just yet. Maybe not ever.  
  
They'd quickly splinted her leg and dressed the staff blast wound on her shoulder. Heidall got her to take some pain killers, although she refused the morphine because she couldn't afford the unconscious oblivion that it would send her to. Then they'd carried her back over the ridge and down to the steep, rocky hillside where they'd discovered some small caves earlier.  
  
After they lay her down inside the small cave, she drifted into a feverish sleep. The three men tended to her wounds as best they could and prepared for their final foray into the complex. The two lieutenants switched off at sentry duty.  
  
No one came to investigate them, however, and Heidall knew that under normal circumstances, they would have been found fairly quickly. Today, however, was different. The Tauri and the Tokra were orchestrating a large-scale diversion on the local Jaffa airbase. Although not the main target of this mission, the attacks on the airbase were planned to draw support and attention away from this complex. And, Heidall reflected… it must have worked. That and the fact that the Jaffa that they'd run across were in unscheduled locations… so maybe the Jaffa higher-ups had yet to put the pieces together… they might not even know that their soldiers were missing yet. This just might give these Jaffa a taste of what the previous week had been like for the Tauri…   
  
===============  
  
"Major? Major Carter?" Heidall was trying to wake her.  
  
"ggtthhh….aaarrrrraaa….," he received an unintelligible moan for a reply. The three men were going to have to leave in just around a half hour to get in position for the final infiltration. Sam was running a fever, sweating and shaking. Heidall thought it was a bit soon for the infections to have set in from the knife or staff blast wounds, but, then he knew that she'd been injured on a recent previous mission and he couldn't be sure what her body was reacting to now.   
  
And now, Heidall needed to get her conscious and clear-headed before the three men left.  
  
"Major?" he tried again and smoothed a cool wet cloth across her forehead. And, finally her eyes opened and he watched her fight to bring her vision into focus.  
  
"Captain?" she said it so weakly that he held his breath.   
  
[How could they ask her to do any more? Why couldn't they just let her die in peace? A couple of quick zat blasts and she'd be out of pain. Instead of lying here in agony and then getting blown up when they took the complex out], he thought bitterly.  
  
"Major, good to see you're back with us," he tried smiling at her encouragingly, but he could see that she wasn't buying it…. and then she coughed and her body jerked and writhed in pain.  
  
Over the next 20 minutes the Captain and Lt. Ponce tended to their injured CO. They got her to drink a little soup in which they had mixed some protein powder. The grimace on her face told them that it probably tasted worse than it sounded, but she forced it down.  
  
They went over, again, the logistics and plan for their next infiltration and then Heidall gave her a couple more Tylenol… although he knew it wasn't doing much of anything for the pain that she was dealing with.  
  
And, then he gave her a stimulant. She'd ordered him to do it, and he'd balked… even though he knew that they didn't have a choice. She was never going to stay conscious otherwise. So, he'd given her the injection… it was some clear substance that they'd all been advised provided the clear-headedness that she would need in this situation. They'd also always been cautioned against using the stimulants unless absolutely necessary. The stimulants, like most drugs, were habit forming… and they increased heart rate and overall metabolism… In effect, he was hastening her death as he squeezed the injection into her.  
  
"Captain…?" she was looking at him and he could see the drug taking effect as her eyes seemed to clear in front of him.  
  
"Yes ma'am?" he replied miserably.  
  
"You're doing what you have to, you need to remember that," she was looking him straight in the eyes and he swallowed with difficulty. He wanted nothing more than to crawl off and be sick in some dark corner of the cave. And, he could see the understanding in her eyes.  
  
"Captain, I want you to remember, that I hold you in the highest regard for the strength of what you've accomplished over the past few days," she gave him a gentle smile.  
  
"Ma-..," he started to mumble out an inadequate response, but she interrupted him.  
  
"Captain, you have to get into that power plant and set those charges…. Then you have to get those two Lieutenants out of there. They are your responsibility. I need you to finish this for me… I know that I'm asking a lot, but I know that you can pull this off," and she paused to take a few breaths.  
  
"We'll come back for you," he couldn't stop himself from saying it.  
  
"No…. no, you can't do that. You won't have time to get back here… you need to get your men through that gate," she gave him a knowing smile. "Sometimes command sucks, Captain… I'm sorry."  
  
He didn't reply immediately and just listened to her labored breathing while he looked at the rocky floor of the cave. "Major, if I can come back… after we get through the gate… after… I will," he said it vehemently.  
  
Looking over at her, he saw her gently shaking her head, "Not much point in that, Captain. Don't torment yourself. Get your men back… and, then…," and she got a funny grin on her face, "You could do something for me when you get back…?"  
  
"What?" he asked, dreading the request that he'd have to fulfill for an officer that he respected… and had to leave behind…to die.  
  
"You may not like it much… but, I'd get a kick out of it…," she shrugged at the lack of logic. "I haven't seen the other members of SG-1 in what seems like ages… although I think it's only been a week or two or so… I've kind of lost track of time…so… if you're willing… I'd appreciate it if you'd just… gave them a hug… from me," and she watched for his reaction.  
  
"Hug Colonel O'Neill?" the Captain squeaked and she chuckled softly at him and he saw her eyes twinkling. He wasn't sure if she actually wanted him to hug the guys of SG-1, or if she was just trying to get a little humor going in what had become a Dead Man Walking atmosphere. "Ma'am… I'm sure that Doctor Jackson would be OK with it, while Colonel O'Neill would probably yell at me or deck me, and… as for Teal'c… I don't think that he'd let me get close enough," he relaxed a little as he played along with her.  
  
"Well, that's OK, Captain, it was just a thought," and she smiled at him and he was glad to see some of the pain wasn't showing as much on her face. "You could just threaten them with it… that would probably be more fun anyway," she wiggled her eyebrows.  
  
"Yes, ma'am, I'll figure something out. Maybe I'll enlist the two Lieutenants….?" he offered.  
  
"Good idea, Captain," she replied, still smiling.  
  
"Thanks, Major," he acknowledged her efforts for him.  
  
"No problem, Captain," she answered without reservations, "Now, I think you three had best be off. I'm clear-headed enough and I'll be listening. Just let me know when you get to the central power unit and I'll talk you through the crystals and connections."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he replied and then stood up with his pack in his hands. "Major…?" and he floundered while she looked at him quizzically. Finally, he just snapped to military attention and snapped off a razor-sharp salute. She gave him a grin and a weak salute in return from her prone position on the rocky cave floor.  
  
Nodding, he turned and collected the other two officers as they headed off to take care of their last objective.  
  
===================  
  
Three and a half hours later and they'd worked their way inside the power control building and into the main control center. The three officers were overwhelmed at the size of the cavernous complex and the endless racks of crystals and wires.   
  
Once at their objective, they established radio communications with Sam. The entire mission was supposed to be one of complete radio silence; however, they had the biggest objective… and one of the last ones… so they were forced to take the chance that their radio communications would not be discovered in time to stop them. The other teams would each have a member scanning the team frequencies and it wouldn't be long before all of the teams would know that their team had run into problems.  
  
When they contacted her that they were in position, she responded immediately. She sounded very lucid, although they could tell that she was having trouble breathing. Her instructions were halting and interspersed with pauses and dead air from the radio… and they knew that she was either coughing or simply struggling to get enough air to continue talking.  
  
She asked them questions and they described what they saw under her directions. They set the C4 where she told them and when they were finished they had less than 20 minutes to get to the gate and get out before the explosives… and hopefully, this entire complex, were going to detonate. The Major's selected positions for their explosives were calculated to use the power plant itself to increase the explosive blast and destruction.   
  
As they ran out of the facility, they shot anyone in their path.   
The time for stealth was long since past.  
Heidall let himself think briefly of the officer that they were leaving behind… but then he had to push those thoughts out of his mind as he helped the two Lieutenants fight their way to the gate.  
  
As they reached the gate, they could see that it was open and connected. The shimmering blue pool waiting sedately and in ignorance of the violence that was only moments away. Staff blasts followed them and shattered the stone around them into explosions of shrapnel. As the three of them dodged and dove and fired, he could see other SGC soldiers diving and staggering through the gate. All of the teams were egressing simultaneously under a hail of fire from angry Jaffa.   
  
As his team, sans one member, approached the gate, he glanced behind him and could see no other SGC personnel. The three of them appeared to be the last to get here. But, that was how it was planned. Their final objective had been the last planned infiltration of the overall mission.  
  
Running slightly behind the two junior officers, he followed them up the stone steps. He paused sporadically and snapped off rounds with his P90 at the Jaffa behind them. Not taking enough time to aim at any of them… just hoping to slow them down… a little… enough… just enough to get them through the gate.  
  
And, then they were through the gate and slamming onto the steel metal ramp in the SGC gateroom. "CLOSE THE IRIS, CLOSE THE IRIS NOW," Heidall shouted and then he slumped forward… the iris shut and the gateroom was preternaturally quiet for a few long seconds… and then a few thumps hit the iris… and then the iris groaned and flexed outwards a little… and then relaxed back into its normal position as the wormhole disconnected behind it.  
  
Heidall slumped forward… in exhaustion… in victory… and in misery…. he didn't even know that he was crying. But he let himself think of her now. Lying back there in that cave. Beaten and broken and bloody. But carrying on strong to the end. Talking them through that last part. Making it all possible for them. He let himself feel sorry for her… and for himself for having to leave her behind.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 12 ====o0o====  
  
. 


	13. Delusions

_.  
  
Heidall slumped forward… in exhaustion… in victory… and in misery…. he didn't even know that he was crying. But he let himself think of her now. Lying back there in that cave. Beaten and broken and bloody. But carrying on strong to the end. Talking them through that last part. Making it all possible for them. He let himself feel sorry for her… and for himself for having to leave her behind.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 12 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**PART 13: Delusions**   
  
.  
  
"Carter, if there is any chance that you can hear this, please respond,"  
  
That was the Colonel's voice.  
  
She was pleased that her delusions were so accurate. And she was grateful that her fever delusions were not nightmares of being chased by horrible alien monsters or some such.  
  
Perhaps she should answer?   
What could it hurt now?   
She was so far gone, it couldn't matter, could it?  
  
'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE'  
  
…that was an ear piercing screech.  
  
…that sounded like the rescue beacon on one of their radios.  
  
…that could be activated remotely by search and rescue teams.  
  
And it would mean that they felt that they were close enough to hear it.   
That was usually only a few hundred yards or so.  
  
They'd never hear it through the walls and rocks of this cave, though.  
  
Why was she now acting like this was real?   
It was a delusion.   
Of course, good delusions were impossible to spot as delusions, right?  
  
'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE'  
  
"Sam, are you there? Sam please respond," that was Daniel again.  
  
He sounded so real.  
  
OK, just where was that radio?   
There…….it was on the floor, just past the canteen.  
It had slid just out of her reach.   
She'd have to stretch or sit up to get to it.  
  
She tried stretching first.   
It seemed like the lowest energy attempt.   
But the stretching was not working.   
She couldn't reach it.   
It was still several inches from her fingers.  
  
"Sierra Golf One-Niner to Sierra Golf One-Two. Please respond."  
The Colonel again.   
Good to know that he was alive…at least in her delusions.  
  
She decided to try rolling slightly onto her side while curling her body in a little.  
  
PAIN!  
  
The pain was horrible.   
Her vision greyed and spots swam in front of her.   
Nausea swept through her and she was sure that she was going to retch.  
  
Breath, slow breaths. In….in….slow….now…out….slow…slow….in…..in….slow….careful….  
  
She lay on the floor immersed in the pain, the heat of the fever and the ragged slow breaths.  
  
She looked towards the radio.   
It was silent now.   
Her delusions appeared to have temporarily quieted.  
  
Extending her arm, she could now reach the radio. Closing her fingers around it she slowly allowed herself to roll back so that she was lying face up again. The pain and nausea swept across her. Her vision threatened to grey out again, but the swimming spots did not appear this time.  
  
She lay on her back with the radio in her hand by her side.  
  
Now what?  
  
It was quiet in the cave.   
  
She could hear nothing coming from the radio.   
No delusions speaking to her.  
  
"Sam, please, talk to us. Please tell us that you are alive. We are coming to get you. Please talk to us," Daniel's voice came through the radio clearly.  
  
Hmmmmm….now her delusions were getting more chatty.  
  
'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE'  
  
And she could feel the radio vibrating in her hand.  
  
She could feel it!  
  
Now…could that be a delusion?  
  
Probably, she figured. Why not?  
  
'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE'  
  
And it vibrated in her hand again.  
  
OK, so maybe…so, what if…what if it isn't a delusion?  
  
Moving the radio up to her chest, she keyed the talk button, "Rrrtttmmmthh…" was all she could croak out. Well, that wasn't very impressive…nor effective….  
  
'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE' 'WHHEEEEEEEE'  
  
She tried again, "Dan'l…Krrn'l…" a little closer to something intelligible… but it also made her throat hurt and it was making her want to cough…and she didn't want to go there…she didn't think she'd stay conscious if she had a coughing bout.  
  
Sighing, she relaxed and decided to think about her audio delusions.  
  
==========================  
  
They had started trying to clear the rubble from the area Captain Heidall had indicated as the cave entrance. Jack and Daniel continued attempting to raise Sam on the radio.   
  
O'Neill watched the soldiers around him.   
No one was talking.   
Everyone was just grimly laboring at moving the heavy rocks.   
This had become a depressing retrieval mission instead of a recovery attempt.  
  
"ckkktthhttrr…" everyone froze at the noise that came over their radios.  
  
Everyone was staring at O'Neill. Daniel's eyes were wide.  
  
Jack narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow. Reaching for his radio, he depressed the locator button that was keyed to Carter's radio. They all strained to hear the rescue beacon through the rocks.  
  
"kkkkttthhhh…," the radios crackled again and then, "dn'l…krn'l…" unintelligible…but definitely someone speaking….  
  
It was her! She was…alive! The shocked looks of incredulity were amazing.  
  
Jack's face split into a wide grin only beaten by Daniel's whoop of joy.  
  
Teal'c and the others returned to their rock-removal task with newly infused fervor.  
  
"Carter, we heard that!" Jack spoke into his radio. "We are coming for you. Don't move."  
  
"Sam…Sam….we are right outside. We're digging out some rocks. We'll be right with you," Daniel babbled into his radio.  
  
"Carter? Carter, talk to us, Major," O'Neill ordered as he helped remove rocks.  
  
==========================  
  
Forty minutes later, Teal'c broke through. It was just a small hole, a few inches across, but he tried to peer inside. Seeing nothing but darkness, he called, "MajorCarter?"  
  
Everyone else stopped and looked over at Teal'c.   
  
Silence echoed back at them.  
  
"Here, try this," Colonel Roberts handed Teal'c a flashlight. Shining the flashlight through the tiny opening, Teal'c tried to see into the cave.   
  
Dirt and rocks. "I do not see anything yet, however, the cave does appear to continue much further back and…," he paused and tried to make out some shapes on the floor of the cave.  
  
"Carter?" Jack tried on the radio again.  
  
"Carter?" Teal'c could hear the sound of O'Neill's voice through a radio somewhere inside the cave.  
  
"I heard a radio receive your call, O'Neill. I can also see something on the floor of the cave; however, I can not make out what it is. I also believe that I see light but I can not see the source of the light," Teal'c continued.  
  
"Allright, campers, let's get this hole widened so we can get in there," O'Neill directed. With renewed efforts, the rescue party tore at the remaining rocks and dirt.  
  
Another 20 minutes passed before they had a hole large enough for anyone to squeeze through. "Sir?" Captain Heidall addressed the Colonel, "I can get through there," he appealed.  
  
Eyeing the opening, O'Neill assessed the risks and then nodded. Everyone stepped around to give the Captain both clearance and support if he needed it.   
  
Heidall turned his flashlight on and extended his arms in front of him as he shimmied through the small opening. Dirt and small rocks showered down on his back. A few minutes later, he slid down the inside of the rock and dirt pile into the cave. The opening behind him had half filled with dirt and rocks again.  
  
"Heidall, you OK, in there?" Colonel Roberts was peering in through the small opening.  
  
"Yes, sir," he responded quickly.  
  
Sweeping his light around the cave, he quickly spotted the injured Major lying beside her pack and gear. "Sir, I see her."   
  
Quickly moving over to her side, "Major Carter?"   
  
She did not reply. Her eyes were half-closed and her face was feverish. She held the radio in her right hand and he could see her flashlight by her side. A medkit was open next to her open pack.  
  
"Sir, she's alive!" Heidall called into his radio. "Her pulse is weak and thready. Respiration is shallow and uneven. She's also running a high fever."  
  
He could hear the rocks and dirt moving behind him as the others worked to widen the cave's exit.   
  
"Carter?" O'Neill was suddenly beside the Captain. He was shining his light over her and trying to get her to respond to him.  
  
Jack was horrified at the extent of her injuries and terrified that she was going to die on him. There was blood all over her leg and shoulder. Her face was covered in sweat and her eyes were unfocussed. He felt her neck for her pulse. Weak and thready…just like the Captain had reported. And she was hot…she was burning up.   
  
"Sir?" the Captain offered O'Neill his open water bottle. Without taking his eyes off of her, Jack took the canteen and carefully dribbled a little into her mouth. Just a little. She wasn't lucid enough to know what they were doing and he didn't want to cause her to cough or spasm.  
  
"Jack?" Daniel was by his side, and he heard the archeologist's quick intake of breath at seeing Sam's condition. They'd all known that she was severely injured. And they'd all known that it was most likely that she was dead. However, she was alive…and very obviously in a great deal of pain. Jack glanced at Daniel and saw the open look of anguish on the archeologist's face.  
  
"Sam, Hold on," Daniel spoke to her softly. "We're going to take you home and fix you up."  
  
Behind them, the medics were moving a stretcher through the enlarged opening. Teal'c joined them. "We are now prepared to move MajorCarter, O'Neill."  
  
They moved the stretcher alongside her and Teal'c laid a blanket alongside her body. While Daniel held her head, they slowly lifted her left side and slid the blanket underneath her, with some extra pleats for their next move. She twitched and moved in pain when they touched her, mumbling things that they couldn't quite make out. Daniel spoke to her softly to try and focus her attention on something besides what they were doing.  
  
"Sam, we've missed you a lot over the past few days. Jack and Teal'c don't want to listen to my ramblings about inscriptions and myths. I tried talking to my plants, but it hasn't helped. I even tried talking to -_your_- plants, but that didn't help either."  
  
"Wht lnnnggdd uty…" she mumbled something and twisted a bit in their grasp and everyone froze.   
  
"Latin and Ancient Egyption…," Daniel replied with a face-splitting grin. Captain Heidall looked bewildered as he saw unabashed grins on both O'Neill's and Teal'c's faces. The smile on Teal'c's face actually stunned the young Captain…he'd always thought that the Jaffa was something like a Vulcan Mr. Spock, but the now-present smile on the Jaffa's face made him look… -_almost_- friendly. All three male members of SG-1 were looking at the Major with unconcealed love and hope. Heidall respectfully remained silent.  
  
Slowly lowering her down onto the blanket, they repeated the procedure and slowly lifted her right side while O'Neill gently pulled the blanket under her.  
  
"Sam," Daniel was continuing, "I want you to see the ruins on P4X-836. I was only there for 2 days a few months ago, but they have this ancient machine that no one can figure out. But I know that you can…," and he continued softly talking to her about the inscriptions on the artifact and the native mythology surrounding the ruins.  
  
With the blanket stretched out below her, they carefully lifted the blanket and Sam onto the stretcher. Daniel continued softly talking to her and she occasionally mumbled things that they couldn't quite make out.   
  
Once on the stretcher, they carefully secured her and then they passed the stretcher through to the others waiting outside. Scrambling out with her pack and gear, they saw that she was on the ground between the two medics who were taking her vitals and assessing her injuries. Trying to stay out of their way, but trying to stay as close as possible, the others crowded around.  
  
A few minutes later, one of the young medics addressed O'Neill, "Sir, she is shocky and her temperature is 105°. She has several infections as well as burns and cuts. We can't do much for her injuries here, sir, we need to get her to the SGC as soon as possible…," but everyone could see that the young medic did not think that she was going to survive.  
  
"Then let us move quickly," Teal'c spoke firmly as he leaned down to take one corner of the stretcher. Jack, Daniel and Colonel Roberts quickly picked up the other three corners. Captain Heidall had tried to step forward and help, but Colonel Roberts spoke to him, "You've done a good job son, you lead the way back."  
  
"Yes, sir," the Captain reluctantly followed his orders.  
  
They covered ground as fast as they could without causing the stretcher to bounce uncomfortably. The stretcher bearers were relieved every 20 minutes to keep them fresh so that they could maintain speed.   
  
The medics constantly monitored her pulse and respiration.  
  
Daniel and the others continued talking to her although she didn't respond with anything other than mumbles.  
  
They had been moving nonstop and they were approximately 2.5 clicks from the gate when one of the medics suddenly ordered, "STOP, put her down. She's not breathing!"  
  
They quickly laid the stretcher down as gently as they could while the medic felt for a pulse. "Pulse is weak and thready." And then he leaned down and began rescue breathing. Everyone else held their breath.   
  
The second medic continued to monitor her pulse while the first medic continued rescue breathing.  
  
"Carter!" Jack barked. "Carter! You need to fight, dammit!" His words were harsh, but he couldn't keep the fear off of his face.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 13 ====o0o====  
  
.


	14. Angst

_.  
  
The second medic continued to monitor her pulse while the first medic continued rescue breathing.  
  
"Carter!" Jack barked. "Carter! You need to fight, dammit!" His words were harsh, but he couldn't keep the fear off of his face.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 13 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**PART 14: Angst**  
  
.  
  
"She's breathing!" the first medic stated. "Quickly, let's get her up and moving again," he instructed.  
  
Twenty minutes later, they were stepping through the gate with SG-2 and SG-8 covering their sixes as they returned to the SGC.  
  
The SGC's CMO Dr. Janet Frasier and a full medical trauma team swept Sam away from them and out of the gateroom before they could say a word. General Hammond did not ask anything, he simply watched. The Major was not moving, but the returning rescue team did not have the demeanor of a group of men that had just carried a dead body back. No, they looked seriously worried and exhausted. But not completely devastated.  
  
Jack's eyes caught the General's and Hammond read the pain and worry in his 2IC's face. Nodding his understanding, he followed the members of SG-1 and the rescue team as they moved at a quicktime pace to the infirmary. Where they were stopped at the infirmary doors. There were nurses and SFs stationed there to keep them from getting inside and in the way. Hammond noticed a line of chairs in the hallway and was surprised at the foresight of the medical staff.  
  
Turning and addressing the milling soldiers, he raised his voice above their worried terse conversations, "Job well done, airmen, you have my heartfelt admiration in your success at bringing Major Carter home alive."  
  
He had their attention now. "As you all know, the Major's injuries are severe, and it will be some time before the doctors will be able to give us much more definitive information. In the meantime, I want you all to go through standard post-mission protocol. Get a shower and get something to eat and come back for your post-mission checkouts. We will keep everyone advised of any significant changes in Major Carter's condition."  
  
Silence greeted his statements. The men and women in the hallway looked at each other and then slowly, and reluctantly, they each turned and headed off to follow his orders. All except the men of SG-1.  
  
Teal'c was staring into the infirmary entranceway as if he could divine what was happening.   
  
Daniel was pacing quickly back and forth nervously.  
  
Jack was sitting in the first chair next to the infirmary doors. Staring into space.  
  
Sighing, Hammond moved over and took the seat next to the Colonel. He didn't say a word. There was nothing that he could say that Jack didn't already know. He just leant his presence to comfort the soldier and his teammates.  
  
Over an hour passed and no one came out of the infirmary to give them a status report. Of course, that meant that she wasn't dead, Hammond held on to that.  
  
--------  
  
Finally Doctor Frasier stepped out to where she knew SG-1 would be waiting. Formally addressing the General, but her words were for all of them, "Sir, Major Carter has a serious staff blast wound to the left shoulder, a broken right leg that also has an infected knife wound, broken ribs and a concussion. The infections are currently the most life-threatening, her temperature is very high and we must get it lower and quickly," the doctor paused for reactions and questions.  
  
"What are her chances, doc?" Jack said while still staring into space.  
  
More silence answered his question for a few seconds as the doctor struggled with her response. "Unfortunately, the prognosis does not look promising. Her temperature has been too high for too long. The infections are widespread in her system. We are giving her very large doses of antibiotics and fluids while we try to lower her temperature. She also lost a lot of blood and we are trying to bring her blood volume back up. However, she is very weak…and, frankly, I am not sure why she is still alive. I…wish I could give you more hope, but….."  
  
No one said a word to her.   
No one shouted.   
None of them railed at her.   
None of them told her off.   
They all simply looked at her.   
  
They seemed to already know what she had had to tell them. And yet…they didn't seem to accept it. In times like these, when doctors had to give this kind of news to friends and families, doctors had to face one of the worst facets of their professions. Typical responses were anger and accusations and, sometimes, threats of physical violence. The close-knit special forces groups and teams of the SGC bred an internal allegiance that often led to confrontations between the soldiers and medical personnel during trying times such as these.  
  
But these men just looked at her.   
They didn't say a word.  
  
"We will try everything that we possibly can to give her any chance at surviving…," she tried to continue, "I just thought that you should know the truth…," and her voice trailed off under their inspection.  
  
"Thank you, doctor," Teal'c was the one to finally speak. "We are grateful for all of the expertise and care that your staff offers. We will wait here until you tell us that we can visit MajorCarter."  
  
The other men did not move.  
  
Nodding her acceptance at their fierce allegiance, she quietly returned to the infirmary to assist with the care of her friend and to prep a portion of the medical bay for the string of post-mission checkouts ahead of them.  
  
==========================  
  
Two hours later and General George Hammond was returning to the impromptu infirmary waiting area. He had just spent the past few hours sending messages and requests for help to the Tokra, the Tollan, the Asguard and the Nox. He hadn't gotten through to anyone. The Tokra who had returned with Colonel Roberts had left almost immediately after arriving in the gateroom. The only one left who could use the Go'a'uld healing device…was the one fighting for her life right now.  
  
George had not been able to get through to Jacob Carter, Sam's dad, either. The Tokra were -_again_- moving their main base of operations while they continued several other offensives against the Go'a'uld. Hammond had called … and 'left messages' that they might never return to even hear.  
  
George knew how devastated Jacob would be if Sam did not survive. George knew that he himself would find it difficult enough, but Jacob would never forgive himself for not being able to help her.  
  
Still a few turns from the infirmary, Hammond could hear the sounds of people ahead of him. Rounding the last corner, he saw that the hallway was full again. This time most of the men and women were freshly showered and wearing clean fatigues. All except SG-1. The members of the rescue team awaited both news of the Major and their post-mission checkouts. Other base personnel had joined the group in the hallway. The milling crowd had grown in numbers as technicians, soldiers and scientists intermingled as they waited. The men of SG-1 waited silently just outside the infirmary entrance.   
  
General George Hammond watched his base personnel interact.   
He was proud of the men and women that worked here.   
So many of them were selfless and hardworking.   
  
So many of them sacrificed their personal lives for the greater purpose of this project and its goals.  
  
He looked over the interesting diversity of the personnel interacting quietly in this hallway. Sam Carter was the reason they were here, in this hallway. She was a competent, fierce soldier that commanded the respect of the other airmen and special ops troops. She was a brilliant scientist who worked with the eggheads and other geniuses assembled here. She also worked alongside and oversaw the gate and computer technicians.   
  
Soldiers, scientists, engineers and technicians. In so many places on earth, these groups could not find common ground. These groups often fought and warred against each other. But Sam Carter could work with them all. She could walk amongst them all as an equal, or as their leader. Hardly ever was a cross or mean word said about the Major. That, Hammond knew, was rare for someone so talented and gifted. Most humans with such gifts usually alienated people around them due to jealousy of them or arrogance from them. But Sam Carter's natural unassuming demeanor put most everyone at ease.  
  
Glancing over, he saw that O'Neill was no longer staring into space and that he was also watching the growing crowd in the hallway.  
  
"Sir," Jack spoke for the first time in hours, "What else could pull this group of people together like this? If it were any other soldier lying in there, there would only be fellow airmen out here. She…," and his voice broke with emotion and he stopped.  
  
"Yes, son," Hammond replied softly. "I understand. I can't say that there are very few people like Sam Carter, because I don't think that there is anyone else like her. I don't know what made her the way she is, I'm just glad that I've been lucky enough to have had her in my life."  
  
Jack was stunned at the General's words. The depth of emotion was unexpected from a superior officer when speaking about a subordinate in his chain of command. But he knew that Sam had 'connected' with the General, too. She'd been a Captain and then a Major in his command, but there was something that also made him feel like a father to her.   
  
Jack thought about what really made her special.   
She was a fiercely competent soldier.   
Dedicated to her teammates.   
Passionate.   
Yet willing to follow orders.   
A brilliant scientist.   
A genius who make connections and leaps of deduction.   
And a practical scientist…  
…– one who could hotwire a Stargate and jury-rig a naquadah bomb.  
  
But he knew that all of that was not what truly made her special.   
What made her special was -_her_-.   
Her soul.   
She had a beautiful soul.   
He'd known it for years now.   
It had captivated him.   
And, he'd watched it captivate man after man after man.   
Fellow SGC personnel…scientists, technicians, soldiers.   
All sorts fell for her.   
Every alien male that they met seemed to notice what made her special. And she was hardly ever aware of her affects on those around her.  
  
She was beautiful…slender, athletic and with fine features. But what radiated out and ensnared every male was her soul. Jack couldn't describe it any other way.  
  
She wasn't Pollyanna saccharine-sweet….but there was a wholesome happy goodness that radiated from her. And as pathetically sappy as that sounded, he was at a loss for words that provided a better description. Especially when she smiled…her smiles seemed to open the window into her soul and all that shone out was a welcoming positiveness that made him (and all other males) want to step in and join her.  
  
In some ways, when she smiled, she almost seemed naive…even though he knew that she wasn't. She was trained as a soldier, was a scientific genius and she'd experienced years of battle-hardening experiences. And, yet, she was still willing to extend trust to people.  
  
That was the major difference between him and her. He'd acquired the typical cynicism that came to most of those who followed the special forces path for many years. She, on the other hand, had not allowed it to overtake her. She and Daniel shared that in common. Neither of them were arrogant scientists, and neither of them had allowed their souls to be destroyed or curdled by the events of the past several years.  
  
Neither of them held onto their hurt and anger as long as he did, Jack realized. And, yet, somehow, the two of them put up with him. When he'd first met the two of them, he'd thought that his life had been unnecessarily burdened and that his time with them would be a time of suffering for him. He'd since discovered that he was the lucky one and he felt that they had to suffer with his presence. He couldn't seem to leave his cynical sarcastic side behind, but they simply rolled their eyes and allowed him his behaviors. And he loved them for it.  
  
She and Daniel did have so much in common. He'd often wondered why the two of them hadn't pursued anything romantic between them. They seemed so…suited for each other. He had heard Sam state that she felt like Daniel was like a brother to her. And he'd heard Daniel state that he felt like Sam was like a sister to him. But they weren't actually brother and sister…and…they didn't have any nasty military regulations preventing them from being together…so, Jack was at a loss to explain why the two of them had never become more than just friends…or surrogate siblings.  
  
Jack started as he realized that he was staring at Daniel…and that Daniel was staring back at him. Neither man said a word as they locked eyes. Mutual pain and worry traveled back and forth between them. Their thoughts not as different as they might have expected. Consciously shifting his eyes down to the floor, Jack broke the moment as they continued their vigil outside the infirmary in front of the milling crowd.  
  
-------------  
  
The tableau of personnel shifted as the hours passed.   
  
Periodically a nurse or doctor would come out with an update.  
  
They had finally gotten her temperature down and she seemed to be responding to the antibiotics.  
  
Hours later, they were told that her leg had been set and that the knife wound had been stitched up.  
  
Then the infirmary jangled with noise and commotion as monitors whined and jangled.   
  
She'd arrested. Her heart had stopped.   
  
They could all hear the repeated orders and vitals, the sound of the flatline…and the jolting sounds of the electrical paddles as they tried to jumpstart her heart.  
  
They got it going again and the machines settled back to their reassuring repetitious beeping. The men of SG-1 and the General had crowded into the doorway. The hallway was still and quiet as no one moved or spoke while they waited for the report.   
  
Doctor Frasier empathetically came over and gave them a status report. Nothing they didn't already now. They'd seen and heard it all. The doctor's tone and face let them know that she still did not expect Sam to survive. They'd brought her back, but she didn't think that she was going to stay with them for much longer. She didn't say it in those words…she couldn't…but they understood her.   
  
They just didn't agree.   
They couldn't.   
At least not the men of SG-1.   
  
She was still breathing and her heart was still beating.   
They had to hold onto their hope.  
  
==========================  
  
Finally, another doctor came out and addressed the General, SG-1 and the assembled personnel. "Major Carter is now in intensive care. Her prognosis is serious, but she is currently stable. Each hour that passes however is a step towards the positive." The doctor's words were carefully chosen. She had not stated that Carter might live. But she hadn't come right out and said that she was going to die either.  
  
"Doc, may we see her?" Jack asked.  
  
Expecting this request, the doctor nodded sympathetically. "You know the rules, Colonel. We can't have a crowd in the medical bay, however, we can allow one or two of you in at a time, as long as you stay out of the way."  
  
"How about three, doc, if they promise to be practically invisible to your staff?" Hammond gently requested for all three men of SG-1. Daniel flashed the General a grateful grin.  
  
Slowly nodding, the doctor acquiesced. "I will inform the rest of the medical staff." The doctor knew that these fellow soldiers needed to be by her side in the coming hours.  
  
As the doctor led the men into the infirmary, Hammond turned to address the rest of the group waiting in the hallway. "I would like to thank you all for the concern and dedication that you have shown to Major Carter," Hammond paused as he looked over the melange before him. "Now, we must all leave her to the doctors and to the care of SG-1. Everyone will be apprised of any significant developments in the Major's status. Dismissed." This wasn't an official military gathering, but he wasn't sure of how else to send them all along their ways. In some ways, it was sad to break up the intermixing as they all headed back to their labs, equipment and different portions of the base. The soldiers finding each other and moving off from the rest. The scientists walking back to their labs, or off to head home to their families.   
  
Hammond forced himself to walk back to his office to face the pile of paperwork and to deal with the aftereffects of the day's missed appointments and meetings.  
  
==========================  
  
They spent the next 40 hours by her side.  
  
"Daniel, Teal'c," Jack spoke up, "why don't you go and get some food and some sleep. I'll stay with her for now….."  
  
"Jack," Daniel began to protest.  
  
"Please, Daniel," Jack asked, "I…I…just want…," some time to speak to her…some time to say some things to her…he couldn't say it outloud, he wasn't supposed to feel this way….  
  
Daniel started to open his mouth to reply and then he stopped, a look of anguish on his face.  
  
"Danny, I know that I'm being selfish…but, please…just give me a little time here?" Jack asked again.  
  
Daniel looked at the Jaffa, "Teal'c?" he asked while looking at Sam.  
  
Teal'c did not answer immediately. He did not want to leave her side at this time either. And then, he thought…perhaps… "O'Neill, DanielJackson, I will return in a moment," and he quickly left the infirmary without any explanation.  
  
Daniel turned back to look at Sam. Lines, tubes and electrical leads ran from all parts of her to the large array of machines surrounding her bed. They'd all seen variations of this scene many times in their years at the SGC. Never was it easy to deal with. Never did they get used to it. Always, it inspired fear for a companion. Always, it gave him a sick, roiling sensation in his stomach.  
  
And, now after all of these years of experience, they could all interpret a lot of the readings from the machines without the assistance of the medical staff. They knew what 'good readings' looked like…and they knew 'dangerous readings'…and it was no surprise that most of the displays surrounding Sam were reporting grave conditions.   
  
He and Jack both scanned the displays and silently digested the implications. Only a miracle would save her. A Tokra using a healing device, the Nox, or some sort of advanced medical technology from the Asgard or the Tollan. One of those types of miracles.  
  
Daniel moved over next to her and gently sat in the chair alongside her bed. Her left chest and shoulder were covered in bandages. Her right leg was swathed in bandages and in an open-frame type of rigid splint. Apparently, they had not been able to put a cast on her leg because of the knife wound and its infection. She had various and asundry bandages on her hands and face.   
  
She was -_not_- on a ventilator, however. She was breathing on her own, barely. They had an automated assist machine strapped to her that was providing her an air mix with a slightly enriched oxygen ratio.  
  
Her breaths were ragged and, he could tell, painful. Her face still looked feverish, although the doc had told them that they had gotten her fever down. Apparently not down to normal, however.   
  
Her face was pale, so pale. And the pain showed. She was still in pain. The doc had explained that if they administered much more pain medication that she would simply slip into sleep and never wake up. Of course, the docs didn't think that she was going to wake up anyway, but doctors were not allowed to simply administer euthanasia. Even when they thought it was for the best.  
  
Daniel's heart felt like it was being ripped apart. He felt so helpless. Sam was so special. She did not deserve this. He knew that her death would leave a large hole in his soul that would never heal. He had been lucky in his life and he had known many special people. He had unconditionally loved several women, and been loved unconditionally in return.   
  
Sam, was something else, though. She was, of course, a colleague. A brilliant colleague who appreciated his work, his efforts and his contributions to their eclectic team called SG-1. She comforted him when he hurt. She backed him up when Jack was relentlessly obstinate. She listened to him while he expounded on his latest discoveries, theories and interpretations. He really did cherish their friendship and she was, truly, like a sister to him. A soulmate who wasn't a lover. In many ways, he felt that their relationship was better than that of lovers. They didn't demand the selfish things from each other that lovers did.  
  
He'd watched her in awe over the years. He could understand her brilliant mind. He didn't understand her physics, but he could understand her mind and how she made the intellectual leaps and connections. What he'd never quite been able to understand was how she was able to function so well in the military chain of command. And, how could she be such a competent soldier? How could she be all of that simultaneously? He knew that a lot of people were always asking those questions about Sam. Sometimes they even asked him…they figured that after working with her for so many years, he must know the answers. But he didn't. He still didn't know how she managed it.  
  
But more than anything else, he was mostly taken with her heart, and her soul.   
That inner essence that made her what she truly was.   
  
Not a brilliant physicist, that was what she did.   
Not a soldier, that was her job.   
No, what made her special was her soul.   
How she looked at the world and how she interacted with it.   
How her smiles showed an inner beauty that, quite literally, blew men out of the water.   
  
He looked down at her and seeing her feverish and in pain…seeing the bandages and the tubes and machines….he suddenly felt sick and leapt up and ran for the nearest sink…and threw up. Shaking, he held his head over the sink as the tears fell unnoticed. No one interrupted him. No one came over and asked if he needed help. Everyone respected his obvious feelings and allowed him to grieve.  
  
Splashing water over his face and rinsing out the sink, he pulled himself upright and walked back over to Sam's side. Jack was watching him with sympathetic eyes.  
  
==========================  
  
A few minutes later…and that's all it had been -just 15 minutes or so since Teal'c had left so abruptly…and the Jaffa returned. He handed radios to Jack and Daniel. "I have spoken with GeneralHammond and we can use channel 14 for communication within the base for the duration of the Major's stay in the infirmary."  
  
Understanding, Daniel and Jack nodded silently. None of them wanted to leave, but they also each wanted some private time with her over the hours to come. Swallowing his own desires and needs, Daniel gave Jack his request to stay with her first. "Jack, Teal'c and I will go and grab some showers, food, and…," he didn't think he could actually sleep…or eat….  
  
Teal'c immediately followed with, "Yes, O'Neill, we will return in an hour." Neither of them needed to say anything about when to use the radio. They would expect a call for anything. If she woke up, if the readings on the monitoring devices changed – for better or worse…or for any other…events….  
  
"Thanks," Jack softly and gratefully acknowledged their sacrifices.  
  
==========================  
  
Jack spent the next hour watching her.   
  
Watching every ragged breath.  
  
He wanted so desperately to help her.   
But he couldn't breathe for her.   
He couldn't repair her injuries.   
Helpless… to do nothing but watch as she fought for every breath.  
  
He knew that he'd blown it. He'd allowed their time together to slip away…he'd wanted more, but he'd been willing to wait.  
  
They'd been friends.   
They'd been comrades.   
  
They'd enjoyed the special, deep bonding that comes from working on a small special-forces type of squad for years.  
  
But the two of them had sensed something else between them.   
Something that was almost indefinable.  
Something that could only be… felt…   
  
Daniel had told him that sometimes he thought he could literally -_see_- the sparks flying between Jack and Sam. The Colonel and the Major. Not allowed. And they hadn't pursued it. But every now and then it caught them unawares and yanked at their hearts.  
  
His rational mind knew that a relationship between them was unlikely not just because of their ranks and positions. A relationship between them was unlikely because he was a sarcastic, cynical older man and she was a trusting, brilliant scientist. Oh, yeah, and younger too. What could she see in him? Why would he want to be around a -_scientist_-? And yet, no one could stop that connection that they had. Not even the two of them.  
  
His mind drifted over scenes and events and memories of the past years since meeting her.  
  
He could see her fully kitted out, competently marching along as SG-1 explored new worlds. Keeping pace with Teal'c, Daniel and himself. Never complaining. Often, actually, the one listening to others complain. He could see her small smiles of amusement and exasperation as he and Daniel bitched about something.  
  
He could see her firing her P90 as they fought off Jaffa, replicators, and other enemies throughout the years. Not showing fear or trepidation, simply showing strength and competence.  
  
He could hear her saying "Fine" when he asked her how she was doing after Niirti's machine had rearranged her DNA. The pain that she'd been in… yet her stoicism when she knew that her fate was inevitable.  
  
He could see her gently interacting with a young Cassandra just after they had found the young orphan on the planet that Niirti had decimated.  
  
He could hear her telling them that she was going to stay with Cassandra in the bottom of that silo. To wait for the explosion -_with_- the young girl instead of abandoning her.  
  
He could see her brilliant smiles when she pieced some scientific puzzle together.   
  
When she made connections that no one else had even dreamed of.  
  
He could see her legs sticking out from under a Go'a'uld DHD console as she hotwired or jury-rigged it back together.  
  
He could see her competently working with the special forces teams as they infiltrated a Go'a'uld complex.  
  
He could hear her laughter at one of his horrible jokes.  
  
He could hear her self-deprecating remarks about "just another one of my dumb ideas, sir," …after saving the Asgard from the replicators.  
  
He could hear the anger in her voice after he had ordered her to lie and trick the replicator Fifth.  
  
He could see her giving mouth-to-mouth to a stranger on a foreign world while staff blasts and Go'a'uld attack ships bombed the battlefield.  
  
He could see her working out on the treadmill in the base workout facilities.  
  
And the images kept passing through his mind.   
  
And his hour passed both quickly and slowly.  
  
==========================  
  
"O'Neill?" Teal'c stood patiently next to Jack alongside Sam's bed.  
  
Jack looked up at his friend.   
He hadn't gotten past the memories.   
He hadn't gotten to say what he needed to say to her.  
But, it was Teal'c's time now.   
Jack would have to wait.   
  
Looking back at her once more, he rose and relinquished his chair to the silent Jaffa.  
  
==========================  
  
Teal'c watched the young woman struggle to hold onto life. The Jaffa was much older than his teammates and Samantha Carter looked extremely young and fragile on the bed before him.  
  
When Teal'c had first joined SG-1, his new world was so foreign in so many ways. Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter were the first two people to earn his respect outside of the realm of the standard male warrior elite. At first, he had felt that it was his job, and his burden, to protect the two scientists. As the years passed, he realized that it was his honor to protect them.  
  
Teal'c respected Major Carter as a fellow warrior.   
He had witnessed her skills and inner fire on the battlefield.  
  
However, he knew, just as Daniel and Jack did, that what he truly admired was simply….her. She was a special person. A person that he wanted in his life. A person that he felt lucky to have known and to have worked with so closely.  
  
"MajorCarter," he addressed her prone form, and then he stopped…she was always asking him to call her Sam… "Sam…" he tried, but it didn't sound right. He was always formal and reserved. He wanted her to hear him now, and she wouldn't know it was him if he called her Sam….  
  
"Samantha," he started again…and that would probably work, "You are in the SGC. You are severely injured and you must fight for time to allow your body to heal. SG-1 will not survive without you. Daniel Jackson will not remain the same if you leave us. O'Neill will be shattered. You must help us to keep him from such devastation."  
  
"And, Samantha, I will not be able to stay with the SGC if you are not here. You are too much a part of my SGC experience. I need you to confide in. I need to know that you will come to me when you need the comfort of a friend. I require your strength of character."  
  
"You must fight to stay with us. Do not leave us. None of the three of us are strong enough to deal with your absence at this time."  
  
Teal'c watched her breathing…and he wished for a sarcophagus. Just one. He'd seen so many Go'a'uld resurrected with them. Go'a'uld who did not deserve one shot at life.  
  
His hour passed quickly as he spent it quietly talking to her about past missions and adventures that they had shared.  
  
==========================  
  
Daniel sat quietly next to Sam and he allowed his tears to fall silently but without restraint.  
  
He'd thought about Sam Carter many times over the years. And he'd finally decided that she was simply…an angel. Not a saint. An angel. She wasn't 'holier than thou'. She was simply…just so…special…that she had to be an angel.  
  
-_That_- was what everyone saw in her. -_That_- was why every male seemed to fall -in love- with her. Not just lust…but heart-rendering love. And her lack of arrogance, her lack of self-absorption, her nature to extend trust and understanding to even those newly met….. Yes, she was an angel.  
  
Daniel didn't care if she wasn't an angel in the religious, mystical sense. He knew that she was an angel in the -_real_- sense.  
  
Daniel had known and met and loved people in his life that he knew were special, people that he would fight to protect, people that he would die for.  
  
But Sam was an angel.  
  
Martouf and Lantesh had sensed it.  
Nareem had felt it.  
Orlin had experienced it.  
  
Daniel could remember watching Sam when he was ascended. Daniel had spoken to Oma about Sam. He had asked Oma if Sam would be able to ascend when her corporeal life came to a close. He'd known it was a question that would only get him a puzzling answer couched in a confucious-type-riddle. But he'd asked anyway. He couldn't stop himself.  
  
And her answer had shaken him. She'd told him, "Samantha Carter can not ascend, Daniel. She is already beyond our realm."  
  
He still didn't know what that meant. Oma had never spoken so directly about anything…and he still didn't know what it meant.  
  
But, he had learned that ascension was not the end of the path for many souls. He'd been surprised to learn that many of the Ascended dedicated their lives to the pursuit of the 'Next Step.' Whatever that was.  
  
Another time when he had been invisibly watching Sam in her lab, Oma had silently joined him. He'd respectfully acknowledged Oma's presence and asked if she wanted anything from him.  
  
"No, Daniel, I am just here to spend a little time with your and your friend Samantha. Please, do not pay any attention to me. I will not disturb your thoughts," and she had faded behind him.  
  
After watching Sam awhile longer, he had unknowingly murmured his assessment, "She's an angel."  
  
"Yes, Daniel, you are very astute for one so young," he heard Oma's voice and then saw her bright essence as it departed for parts unknown.   
  
==========================  
  
How could an angel be in such pain? What allowed such things in the universe?  
  
"Sam," Daniel spoke to her, "Please do not leave us. I know that there are probably wonderful things out there for you…dimensions without pain, without three stubborn men to deal with on a daily basis….and I know that it's very selfish of me to ask you to stay when I left so willingly to join the Ascended."  
  
"I know that it's selfish, but I still want you to stay. I want you to… I need you to -_fight_- to stay here. Please do not rip our hearts out. No one will ever be able to repair the damage."  
  
==========================  
  
The three men spent the time together and alone with Sam.   
They talked to her.   
They pleaded with her.  
  
Doctors and nurses inspected their patient every 10-15 minutes.   
They left the men of SG-1 to their silent vigil.  
  
The hours passed and she didn't die. She showed no signs of improvement, but neither did she show signs of deteriorating. She was hanging on.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 14 ====o0o====  
  
.


	15. Finally Home

_Doctors and nurses inspected their patient every 10-15 minutes.   
They left the men of SG-1 to their silent vigil.  
  
The hours passed and she didn't die. She showed no signs of improvement, but neither did she show signs of deteriorating. She was hanging on.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 14 ====o0o====  
_  
.  
  
**Part 15: Finally Home**  
  
.  
  
And then, Jack saw some changes. Her breathing was …just…a little easier….and her pulse was a little steadier….her face relaxed just a little from the constant fight….. -_his_- heart almost stopped…..  
  
Was he watching her die?  
  
He jumped up and quickly got Doctor Frasier to her bedside. Daniel and Teal'c were both standing out of the way on the other side. The doctor quickly noted all of her readings and vital signs and made some more notations on her chart before she turned to the three faces staring at him.  
  
"She's showing signs of improvement," she stated carefully and guardedly as she saw their faces light up. "However, you must not get your hopes up too high… she may dip up and down a bit as the hours progress," and she saw their faces dim as they reluctantly heard her warnings.  
  
-------------  
  
And the doctor was correct. Sam struggled up and down over the next three days. Several times, they thought she was going to be gone within the hour, but then she would drag herself back from the edge. She didn't arrest again, and her breathing never stopped. Not quite…although, there was one time when Jack could barely see the rise and fall of her chest. She had gotten so still that time that he was convinced that she'd left them.  
  
And, then, on her fifth day in the ICU, she'd started getting progressively better. The doctors said that the infections were almost completely under control. Her breathing was evening out and becoming deeper. The pain was not as evident on her face and she seemed to be almost simply sleeping.  
  
All three men were there late on the fifth day, when Jack saw her right hand move. Just a little. Almost a twitch. Jack sat straight up and Daniel and Teal'c stepped over to his side. Her right hand moved again and then her right arm moved slightly. She moaned a little and moved her head slightly as her eyes started to flutter a little.  
  
----  
  
She didn't hurt quite as much.  
That surprised her.  
And it was dark.  
The flashlight must have finally gone out.  
The second set of batteries must have worn out.  
And she was still alive?  
Couldn't be.  
She'd seen battle injuries before…  
… and hers were too severe…   
  
So…maybe she was dead, now?  
  
And, then, she heard something....   
…indistinct…unintelligible…  
must be too far away…  
  
Now… she could almost make it out…  
mutterings… and mumblings…  
  
"H'lo..?" she tried to greet whoever it was, but all that came out was a low moan.  
  
And, then the voices grew nearer… they were next to her.  
  
Why couldn't she see them?  
  
Had she opened her eyes?  
Err…D'oh…ok, try that….  
  
Light squinted in and her eyes reflexively shut again.  
  
OK… try that again… slowly…  
  
Light… and dark… shapes…  
some of them were moving…  
all of them fuzzy…  
There was lots of noise, now.  
She tried to focus… and the images quickly sharpened… as did the words…  
  
"Hi Sam!" Daniel was beaming at her.  
"Welcome Back, Major," the Colonel was grinning as well.  
Teal'c simply nodded.  
  
Her eyes shut again and then she opened them more fully and looked straight at -_her_- men. "Hi guys," she mumbled very softly.  
  
"Carter, don't do that to us," Jack chided her.  
  
"Sir?" she asked muzzily.  
  
"Sam, you just scared us all. We thought we'd lost you…so I agree with Jack…Don't do that to us again, OK?" Daniel sort-of explained for her.  
  
"I concur, Samantha. You must refrain from any similar future actions," Teal'c grinned at her. She didn't understand what they were talking about, but she knew that she enjoyed it when Teal'c smiled, it lit his whole face up.  
  
"Yes, sirs!" she said softly to appease them all. She'd ask Daniel to explain it all to her later, after she got some sleep.  
  
===============  
  
She slept a lot over the next few days and the doctors moved her into the regular ward as her condition improved. The doctors couldn't explain how she'd come back… but then, things happened like that in medicine… or in spite of it. Even doctors often found the need to look to a higher presence for some explanations.  
  
The three men of SG-1 were always around.   
They never left her alone.   
They always made sure that at least one of them was on hand.  
  
Each time she woke up she was momentarily confused and wasn't sure where she was. The events of the past two weeks were muddled in her pain and drug-filled mind.  
  
They would patiently re-explain to her that she was back in the SGC infirmary. She would stare at them with a puzzled, quizzical look, but then she'd lie back and it was obvious that she'd simply decided to trust them.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 15 ====o0o====  
  
. 


	16. The Timeline

_.  
  
Each time she woke up she was momentarily confused and wasn't sure where she was. The events of the past two weeks were muddled in her pain and drug-filled mind.  
  
They would patiently re-explain to her that she was back in the SGC infirmary. She would stare at them with a puzzled, quizzical look, but then she'd lie back and it was obvious that she'd simply decided to trust them.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 15 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**Part 16: The Timeline**  
  
.  
  
The task forces had wrapped up their work, compiled their reports and finished the timelines. Including the one for a certain Major. The official broad-scale timeline had been copied and included in various reports in professional fashion. And, General Hammond was very, very proud of what the men and women under his command had accomplished in such a short time. He grimaced whenever he realized that the committee members and bureaucrats above him would not truly be able to fathom the heroism and dedication of those who currently served at the SGC.  
  
That special timeline, for one certain Major, had also been copied and transformed into professional graphics for inclusion in her reports and the reports that pertained to her actions.   
  
For now, however, Hammond was in the briefing room, perusing the overwritten timelines that had compiled and collaged and merged into the cacophony of printed and scrawled notes and inserts on the now-crowded white-board.  
  
Amazing.  
  
He shook his head and thanked the heavens above that events had ended favorably.  
  
Amazing.  
  
"Sir?" O'Neill entered the briefing room and came to stand at the General's side.  
  
"Jack," Hammond replied informally from his reverie.  
  
"Pretty mind-blowing, isn't it, sir?" Jack asked him with a grin and a raise of his eyebrows that said 'Whacha gonna do, but go with the flow?'  
  
"Yes, son… mind-blowing… couldn't have put it better myself," Hammond shook his head and allowed a small grin of his own.  
  
"Sir, I know that the task-forces are finished and most of the reports are written…, but, I was hoping to keep this," and he gestured at the overwritten whiteboard, "until Carter can see it?"  
  
"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem, Colonel," Hammond continued staring at the board. "I was actually thinking that we may need a new whiteboard in here, Colonel. I think that this one is no longer useable…What do you think?"  
  
He looked at his CO solemnly, "Sir, I believe that you are correct. These dry-erase pens only erase cleanly if the 'ink' is removed within 10 minutes or so of application. This ink has been here for weeks… and has undoubtedly permanently bonded with the whiteboard surface. Even if the ink does come off, there will undoubtedly be that nasty 'after-image' effect wherever the ink was."  
  
Hammond looked at his 2IC in disbelief. Did that oration just come from O'Neill?  
  
And Jack was grinning at his CO mischievously, "Just trying to fill a little of Carter's shoes while she's not able to, sir."  
  
"You know full well that Major Carter would never have gone on about dry erase makers and whiteboards," Hammond admonished Jack with a grin and a shake of his head. "I think that you just miss teasing her… and, you know, it's really not fair to be teasing her when she's not here to defend herself…"  
  
O'Neill tried to look chastised, but failed miserably, "I'm just glad that she's going to be OK, sir."  
  
"Same here, son," Hammond agreed. "Same here."   
  
And he looked back at the whiteboard.  
And he decided.  
  
They would not erase it.  
They would 'retire' this board.  
  
And keep it as a record and as a tribute to what had been accomplished… and a tribute to those who'd made the sacrifices to ensure success.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 16 ====o0o====  
  
. 


	17. Whumping

.  
  
**Part 17: Whumped**  
  
.  
  
O'Neill sat back in his office with a cup of coffee.  
  
A corporal had just delivered Carter's mission reports to him.  
In a neat manila folder.  
The folder sat on his desk.  
Unopened as of yet.  
He couldn't believe that she'd finished her reports.  
  
But, then, over the past few days she'd been awake for hours at a time and when he'd spent time visiting, he'd constantly tried to pry the details out of her. Except for a few of the other injured, he had everyone else's mission reports. He knew the basics, and even most of the details, of what had happened on all of the missions… including most of hers.  
  
But he there were still gaps in her timeline. Details that he didn't know.  
  
Even details from that first mission to P4X-653… where they'd undergone those 'tests'… and she'd been beaten. He knew the parts that he, Daniel and Teal'c were there for, but he didn't know her part. Not completely. Not yet.  
  
He didn't know her details and observations of the rescue mission with SG-8 and Colonel O'Keefe.   
  
He didn't know the details of what happened in the Beta Site infirmary.   
Just what had that Captain said to her?  
  
He'd gotten reports of her pre-flight time before the sorties on the Go'a'uld mother ships. Doctor Cooper, Captain Beckforce and Captain Wilson had provided detailed reports.  
  
He didn't know, however, what exactly her report of the actual sortie would include. And he really wanted to read that. He'd been there… and he wanted to mesh her perspective and experiences into his. Captain Wilson had reported that she'd taken out 3 Jaffa gliders whereas another pilot had reported that she'd taken out 4 and two other pilots were convinced that she'd taken out 5.  
  
He grinned… however many… Viper 4 had shown the rest how to rumble!  
  
And, he really wanted to read her report from the time her ship was hit through to the rescue and then to their return to the Tokra base. No one else had the details from the time that her damaged ship had limped off until Captain Wilson's team could provide some details as they joined up with her as she headed back to the Stargate.   
  
Then, they lost her again at the Tokra base… until they picked her up again at the staging area for that last multi-force mission. Colonel Roberts' report had indicated that Carter had been escorted to the staging area by a Tokra. But no one but she knew the details of the events she experienced between the evacuating Tokra base and the staging area for Roberts' mission.  
  
And, he'd read the reports of that last mission from the other participants.   
But he still wanted to read hers.   
  
Details.   
There were still details that had yet to be revealed to him.  
Her details.  
  
He looked at the manila folder again.  
  
How could she have gotten all of those reports done?… She was still in the infirmary…. He'd been pestering her so much that she'd finally requested her laptop… and she'd told him that she'd send him the report as soon as she could type it up. One-handed.  
  
He looked at the manila folder again.  
It was suspiciously thin….  
  
He reached down and opened it.  
  
One thin page lay inside the folder.

* * *

**Mission Reports for the dates of August 12-22** (or thereabouts)  
Major Samantha Carter, USAF  
  
**P4X-653.** Mission objective: SG-1 to undergo 'tests' and continue trade agreement discussions with the natives. Personal notes: Got whumped. Walked back to the gate. Would prefer not to do that again. For further negotiations with the natives of P4X-653, I will be busy in my lab. With something.  
  
Returned to SGC  
  
**P5X-376**. Rescue mission with SG-8. Filled in for Captain Henderson who was violently ill in the gateroom. Walked in the rain and mud for miles. Assisted with rescue of injured SG-14 members. Got a little more whumped. Walked back in the rain and dark. Whumping exacerbated.  
  
**Gated to Beta Site.** Spent a night or so in the infirmary.   
  
**P4X-157**. Tokra staging planet for bombing sorties on 3 Go'a'uld motherships. Ate, prepped for mission, slept, went on mission. Flew as part of the cover support for Bear One. Took out several enemy deathgliders and then a Jaffa blast severely damaged my ship. Forced to disengage from mission.   
  
**P9X-159**. Managed a controlled crash landing on nearby planet with Stargate. Additional whumping, but not too bad, considering the alternatives. Evacced as quickly as possible towards the Stargate. Pursued by Jaffa. Rescued by a hastily assembled group of pilots and Tokra who came through the gate after the bombing mission was completed. Pursuing Jaffa mostly blown up or shot. Captain Wilson injured. Recommend that he gets a medal. After I finish kicking his butt all the way to the Asgard galaxy. Can't forget that.  
  
**P4X-157**. Tokra base in state of evacuation. Evacced on Tokra cargo ship. Injuries tended to with Tokra healing device. Slept a little, ate a little. Ring-transported down to a planet with a Stargate.  
  
**P5X-376**. Joined mission to destroy Go'a'uld factories and refineries. Shot and blew up Jaffa. Got whumped again. Repeated whumping. Blew up some buildings and …blew up everything else. Somehow survived…. can't explain that. Rescued by a group of angels.  
  
**Earth.** SGC. Can hardly believe it. 

---  
  
_Sorry, Colonel, I know that this isn't up to my usual report standards…that there aren't more details in here yet. I did warn you that this would only be a rough draft. As I read back through it, though, I'm pretty sure that it's complete… :)…although… I think that someone's influence on me is showing… either that, or it's the latest batch of drugs that they just gave me….  
  
P.S. Am still fuzzy on the dates… will have to get them from other reports…and will work on the bullet lists later. ;)_

_._

* * *

.

He stared at the paper in disbelief.  
Carter -_always_- prepared beautiful reports.  
Complete… with bullet lists and all facts and details.  
  
He couldn't keep the grin off of his face, though.  
This… report… was very well done… in its own way….  
He shook his head as he laid the paper down and let his eyes scan the page.  
  
Succinct.  
He was always telling her to cut the technobabble…  
…to leave out the details and to just give him the bottom line…  
  
And that's what he'd gotten here.  
The bottom line.  
Succinct.  
  
'Got whumped!' Where had she gotten that term from?  
But, he had to admit… it was -_so_- succinct.  
  
He didn't get any of the details that he was looking for…  
…and he knew that she knew that….  
…so… she was probably lying in the infirmary with a grin of her own right now.  
  
A well deserved grin. He had to give her that.  
And he shook his head again.  
  
And, he loved her turn of phrase….  
'Would prefer not to do that again.'  
'For further negotiations with the natives of P4X-653,….  
… I will be busy in my lab. With something.'  
'Pursuing Jaffa mostly blown up or shot.'  
'After I finish kicking his butt all the way to the Asgard galaxy.   
…Can't forget that.'  
'Shot and blew up Jaffa.'   
'Blew up some buildings.'   
'Blew up everything else.'  
  
Yes, these were not her typical words. These were his kinds of words. This was how he would like to write reports… but never could… because none of the bureaucrats above him would appreciate the humor… or the clarity.  
  
And, he knew what was behind these types of words. Deflection. Diffusion. Misdirection. Use humor to move the spotlight to something else. At least for now.  
  
She never promoted her own actions. She always simply let them speak for themselves. Sometimes, her shyness caused her to bury her exploits in verbiage that turned everything clinical and removed the emotion… removed the truth. Professional, clinical and complete. Those were her typical reports.  
  
This report… was for him. Written differently… just for him. She was one of the few who usually -_got_- his humor… and she'd show it with grins or covered laughs. Although a very different style and tenor from her typical reports, it was still typically bereft of any self-aggrandizing. He knew that after she was out of the infirmary, she would take a few days and then present him with complete, typical reports.   
  
He let his eyes scan the page again and skip across a few of the phrases…  
'Got whumped.'  
'Got a little more whumped.'  
'Whumping exacerbated.'  
'Additional whumping, but not too bad, considering the alternatives.'  
'Got whumped again.'  
'Repeated whumping.'  
  
He closed his eyes… they were so lucky that she was still alive. Her words here underplayed the seriousness of her injuries. They were so lucky… -He- was so lucky that she was still alive. And he sat quietly and took in the moment… she was alive… and he just allowed himself to think about that.  
  
----------  
  
He picked up the 'report' and walked to the infirmary to have a chat with his 2IC.   
  
When he reached the infirmary, he nodded and greeted the other patients. Every bed was still full and they were still using annexed adjacent rooms for the excess injured personnel. Doctors and nurses were tending to patients and equipment throughout the room.  
  
He made his way to the end of the row, where she lay sleeping. Teal'c was Kel-nor-reeming on a small mat on the floor against the wall. Jack quietly slipped into the chair next to her bed and the Jaffa opened his eyes and nodded in acknowledgement of his presence.  
  
"Hey, T," Jack said in a low voice, "How is she?"  
  
"She has been sleeping quietly for several hours, O'Neill," the Jaffa informed him as he looked over at the sleeping woman. "The drugs appear to be reducing the pain to tolerable levels while she sleeps now."  
  
Jack looked over at her face. She looked tired. And frail. Not like his normal Carter. But, then, most people aren't real spunky after nearly dying, he thought to himself.  
  
"Here, Teal'c," he handed the Jaffa her report, "Carter sent me her report of the past week or so."  
  
The Jaffa accepted the paper solemnly and quickly read the terse summary. "This is not MajorCarter's typical style for a written report, O'Neill."  
  
"Ya think?" Jack sent back with a smirk.  
  
"However, I do believe that your continued questions were annoying her… and this does appear to be a distillation of the facts…," the Jaffa commented and then continued, "Therefore, I believe that you should not press Samantha for any more of the details until she has been cleared for duty… at which time, she will no doubt provide you with more details than you actually wish to read."  
  
Jack studied the Jaffa's face for a moment. It was soooo difficult to tell when Teal'c was making a joke. And, he was pretty sure, that the Jaffa was expressing his own subtle humor… at Jack's expense. "Mmmmhhmmm….," he limited himself to a non-committal response.  
  
"Hey… what are you guys whispering about?" She was looking at them through sleep-filled eyes.  
  
Both men grinned at her. Well, most people wouldn't have recognized Teal'c's grin as such, but the other two members of SG-1 knew what it was.  
  
"Hey sleepyhead," Jack responded. "Samantha," Teal'c intoned.  
  
"So… Carter… I was just reading… your report…?" and he paused and looked at her.  
  
"Yes, sir?" she looked at him with innocent blue eyes… but he thought he could see a twinkle in them.  
  
"Not your usual style…this report…," he paused again.  
  
"Um… well… I was inspired by my CO, sir… thought it might be appropriate…?" she was grinning now.  
  
"Mmmmm…," he cocked an eyebrow at her, "Sentence fragments… informal language…. "  
  
She just smiled at him innocently. "I thought it was kind of… poetic, sir."  
  
"Poetic?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, sir… the use, or misuse, of grammar and punctuation to explore the written language beyond the normal accepted constrictions…," she suggested… still smiling. "Sort of… artistic, sir…"  
  
"Ah….," and he gave her a skeptical look of amusement and waited a few seconds before continuing. "Well, I have to tell you Carter, that I really, really like your style…," and he looked her in the eyes. "This new style of report, I find it refreshing and I wish that I could get the USAF to allow this style of report for official reports."  
  
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir… thought you might appreciate it," and she glanced over at Teal'c with amusement.  
  
"Now… I know that you are going to bury me with extremely complete, militarily precise, professionally written reports when you are cleared for duty…," and he saw her grin widen and he shook his head. "In the meantime, I just have a few questions - and a few comments."  
  
"Yes, sir?" she let the grin fade and she looked at him more seriously.  
  
"First, when you are cleared for duty, we are going to talk in length about those 'tests' on P4X-653," and he said the word 'tests' with disgust.  
  
"Yes, sir," she said quietly.  
  
"Carter, you should have never had to go through anything like that for any reason – especially not for trade negotiations," he couldn't help himself from starting some of the 'talk' now.  
  
"Yes, sir," she responded quietly again and he saw her wince and she wasn't looking him in the eyes anymore.  
  
"Look… we'll talk about this later," he tried again, "but I want you to know that I'm sorry… it shouldn't have happened."  
  
"Sir!" and she had a frustrated look on her face, "this was -_not_- your fault. You could not have known what was going to happen. None of us could. Although... I might like to speak privately with the teams who did the preliminary surveys and negotiations," she said with a glint in her eye.  
  
"You and me both, Carter," he muttered.  
  
"In the meantime, sir, I think we have to chalk it up to interplanetary misunderstandings…?" she proposed.  
  
"Perhaps…," he stubbornly refused to agree right at this moment. But they both knew that he would have to eventually. It was part of the price of doing their kind of business.   
  
"OK, changing topics… for now," he looked at her again and she waited expectantly. "Whumping?" he asked and played up the incredulity.  
  
He earned the grin that he was aiming for and her cheeks reddened. "Thought you might appreciate that turn of phrase, sir."  
  
"Appreciate it? I love it! It's a great term. So succinct… and lacking in all gory details," he stated knowingly and saw her cheeks redden more, "I just wish that -_I'd_- been the first one to include it in a report!" He earned a small smug smile for his efforts. "This is -_so_- not a typical Carter word… whumping… where did you come across it? Is it from Daniel and one of his obscure dialects?"  
  
"Errrm…no, actually, it's a term that I heard a couple of the SF's use when referring to the numerous and frequent injuries commonly obtained by one Doctor Jackson and one Colonel O'Neill," she flashed a smile and jumped her eyebrows up and down at him.  
  
"Whumping…this wonderful term… is a term that you learned from base gossip?" he asked with disbelief.  
  
"Well… that and the internet, sir," she elaborated.  
  
"The internet?" he repeated.  
  
"Yes, sir, I read a lot of scientific journals… and science fiction… on the internet, sir." she admitted with a grin.  
  
"Whumping…," he muttered and shook his head at her.  
  
"So, do you think that Daniel would know what I meant if I threatened to whump him the next time that he approaches unknown aliens with open arms?" he asked her mischievously.   
  
"Well, Daniel is a linguist… and he's very good at languages… but I doubt that he's heard this slang term before…," she thought outloud, "Unfortunately, sir, the word is too onomatopoetic… and I think that it's meaning is obvious… Daniel would figure it out even if you didn't use it in context."  
  
"Right…," he said with widened eyes, "you lost me right around that awno-mono thingy…," and she rolled her eyes at him, but he saw another glint in her eyes and he was pretty sure that she'd said what she did… the way that she did… very, very deliberately… kind of the way that Teal'c showed his humor…. Mmmmmhmmmm….  
  
"Mmmmmmmhmmm…, it's still a great word, Carter," he praised her with a musing tone and tried to let her see his mental gears plotting on his future uses of 'whumping.'  
  
She was grinning widely now.   
Mission accomplished.   
She looked so alive now.   
So different from when they'd found her in that cave.   
So different from how she'd looked as they'd carrier her back to the gate.   
Or how she'd looked for the first week here in the SGC infirmary.  
  
He was looking at her seriously now… like she was going to disappear… away from right in front of him. Her smile faded and she looked at him with concern. "Sir?"  
  
"Carter…, you are hereby under orders to ensure that this term is not applied to you very often in the future. Understood?"  
  
She grinned and shrugged, "Not looking for any more of it to be honest, sir."  
  
"Carter… the rest of us can't handle it when you get… whumped…," he said softly.  
  
"Sorry sir," she replied quietly.  
  
Trying to lighten the mood, he stood up, "Well, I have to go and get this report to my CO, who's anxiously waiting for it."  
  
"Sirrr…," she rolled her eyes at him, "General Hammond would not appreciate -_that_- report."  
  
"Are you sure about that, Carter?" he threatened with a gleam in his eyes.  
  
"Yes, sir," she responded, "but if you feel that it's necessary…?" and she called his bluff because they both knew that the General would never believe that Carter had written it… no… Hammond would believe that O'Neill had written it. Which Carter knew full well.  
  
"Allright, Major Smartass," he acceded, "Just remember what I said. You are hereby ordered to avoid further whumping…," he finished with a mock-threatening tone.  
  
"Yes, sir," she grinned and gave him a poor salute from her prone position on the infirmary bed.  
  
"You need to work on that salute, airman," he evaluated with a light grin.  
  
"Yes, sir," she smiled back, "I'll get right on that."  
  
O'Neill turned to depart and, "Oh, look Carter, a fellow whumpee," he grinned as Captain Wilson crutched in to visit her.  
  
"What's that, Jack?" Daniel had just entered behind the Captain.  
  
"Ahhh… a whumpee favorite… perfect, join the party," Jack gleefully applied his new word.  
  
"Sorry, Daniel," Sam apologized in recognition of the quizzical looks on the archeologist's and Captain's faces. "I'm afraid that I taught the Colonel a new word," and Jack smirked.  
  
"Awwww… Sam… what have I told you about that?" Daniel mock-whined, "He's already armed and dangerous, you don't need to provide him with fresh ammunition," the archeologist admonished her.  
  
"Sorry, Daniel… I'll have to blame it on the drugs," and she gestured to the IV line and shrugged.  
  
"I heard that, Daniel," Jack sent back over his shoulder as he walked down the hallway.  
  
Daniel turned and grinned widely at Sam and Teal'c. "So, how ya feeling, Sam?"  
  
"Better," she answered truthfully.  
  
After a few more minutes of small talk, Teal'c departed and left Daniel and Captain Wilson with the mending patient.  
  
"So, how are -_you_- doing, Captain?" she asked Wilson.  
  
"Better and better, ma'am," he replied.  
  
"You know, I meant what I said about kicking your butt to the Asgard galaxy, young man," she reminded him.  
  
"Yes, ma'am…," and he grinned at her, "But, to be honest ma'am, I'm pretty sure that I can run faster than you right now…"  
  
She cocked her eyebrows at him, "Only a matter of time, only a matter of time…"  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, "And when they clear you for active duty, Major, my squad would like to extend an open invitation for you to join us on flight maneuvers."  
  
Keeping her face expressionless, she asked, "Are you trying to bribe me… so that you can avoid that galaxy-wide ass-kicking, Captain?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am!" he replied with a wide grin.  
  
"Mmmmm… well… we'll have to see… but that… might be acceptable…," and she grinned at him and shook her head.  
  
"Yes!" he replied, and then "Major… ma'am…"  
  
"And, Captain?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, Major?"  
  
"Thanks, I owe you."  
  
"My pleasure ma'am. You saved my butt more than once in that Jaffa furball," he returned.  
  
"Then I guess we're even," she sent back with a smile.  
  
"Not quite, ma'am, not quite," the Captain looked at her shyly. "Well, Major, Doctor, I have to go to a physical therapy appointment," and he grimaced.  
  
"Thanks for stopping by Captain," she sent after him.  
  
"Sam, I think that that young Captain has a bit of hero-worship going on there," Daniel evaluated and grinned at her.  
  
She sighed, "He's the hero in my book, Daniel. A foolish, disobedient hero… but a hero nonetheless."  
  
He grinned knowingly at her and then they spent the next few hours chatting about some of his latest translations from some artifacts uncovered by SG-4 a few months ago.  
  
Later, as she was dropping off to sleep again, Daniel spoke softly to her, "That whumping thing that Jack was referring to, Sam? I really wish you'd stay away from it."  
  
"I will if you will, Daniel," she murmured in reply and a small smile flitted across her face as she drifted off to sleep again.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 17 ====o0o====  
  
.


	18. Denouement

_.  
  
Later, as she was dropping off to sleep again, Daniel spoke softly to her, "That whumping thing that Jack was referring to, Sam? I really wish you'd stay away from it."  
  
"I will if you will, Daniel," she murmured in reply and a small smile flitted across her face as she drifted off to sleep again.  
  
====o0o==== End Part 17 ====o0o====_  
  
.  
  
**PART 18: Denouement**  
  
.  
  
General Hammond looked down at the papers on his desk. Two weeks ago, they'd finally heard back from governmental representatives of P4X-653. SG-1 had passed all of the 'tests' with 'flying colors.' And, now they wanted to extend an invitation for trade negotiations with the people of Earth. Oh, yes, and one more request, they wanted one Major Carter as one of the representatives from Earth. Apparently, they had several honors to bestow on her….  
  
Hammond glared at the papers on his desk.  
Looked at them with disgust.  
  
Requests for the temporary transfer of one Major Samantha Carter to the diplomatic core.   
  
Those paper-pushing, pencil-necked…. and his thoughts trailed off into dark areas.  
  
Hammond had already shared this news with one certain Colonel.   
And received the expected response of outrage.  
  
O'Neill had only calmed down a bit when the General had assured him that he had no intention of agreeing to the transfer request. Additionally, Hammond would ensure that no members of SG-1 would return to P4X-653.  
  
Somewhat mollified, Jack had toned his ranting down to mutterings. He had left the General's office shortly thereafter, still muttering and cursing under his breath about bureaucrats.   
  
Now, Hammond was alone with the -_pleasure_- of composing his response.   
Too bad, he mused, that he couldn't put his true thoughts on paper….  
  
==========================  
  
O'Neill looked down at the stack of folders on -_his_- desk.  
  
It was two months since they'd brought Carter back. The SGC was settling back down to a more normal routine… if anything they did could be classified as normal. SG-1 had not gone on any missions, although each of the men had accompanied other teams occasionally. Daniel had visited an off-world dig on an abandoned planet. Teal'c had accompanied SG-8 on a couple of rescue missions. O'Neill had gone out with a couple of teams to help train new recruits.  
  
But, they'd always made sure that at least one of them was always around, here on Earth. In case she needed a hand. Because she would never ask. So, they just made themselves available.  
  
The splint on her leg had come off two days ago and she was now working on the physical therapy routines. Working around the leg, she worked out with Teal'c to regain her physical fitness and tone.  
  
And, she was back on light duty. She could work in her lab… assist with the 'Gate system and work on paperwork. And, she'd done it. The paperwork, that is. With a vengeance.  
  
He looked at the stack of folders on his desk again.  
And he couldn't keep a smile off of his face.  
The stack… must be… oh… 4-5 inches thick….  
And it was all her mission reports.  
  
Now he had the details.  
Oh, boy, the details… he grinned to himself.  
He usually hate details.  
  
She was going to make him work to sift out the events.  
And… he had to tip his hat to her…  
…because he knew that there couldn't be much technobabble in there…  
She hadn't been on any scientific missions.  
She hadn't had to repair any alien equipment.  
No… she'd been on one military (or alien contact) mission after the other…  
So…he smiled… she'd still found a way to deflect and diffuse.  
  
He opened the first folder, picked up the first few pages and sat back.  
  
-----------  
  
Hours passed and he was still reading. He'd taken the stack of papers to the briefing room and was correlating her chronology with the timeline on the briefing room board. Occasionally, he added notations to the timeline at the bottom of the board.  
  
"Hey, Jack." "O'Neill." Daniel and Teal'c had tracked him down.  
  
"Daniel, Teal'c," he acknowledged as the other two men sat down and joined him.  
  
"Reading Sam's reports?" Daniel asked knowingly.  
  
"Yeah… it's taking me awhile, though," he gave a small grin and a shake of his head.  
  
Daniel nodded, "Yeah, I only made it through to the part where she gated to the Beta Site with SG-8 and 14. Had to take a break….," and his voice trailed off and then he continued, "I can't believe what she went through… and I can't believe that we somehow are lucky enough to have her back."  
  
"I too," the solemn Jaffa admitted, "am having some difficulty dealing with the events that transpired for MajorCarter."  
  
Jack nodded silently at the other two men. "She's a special kind of hero…," and his voice tapered off.  
  
"She's our hero, Jack," Daniel corrected and Jack nodded his agreement.  
  
==================  
  
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were sitting quietly now in the briefing room. They'd just finished comparing what they'd learned about that final mission and the part played by Sam. They'd gone through it chronologically, adding notations to the whiteboard occasionally… but they'd spent most of their time on the words from their interviews with Captain Heidall and Lieutenants Bedford and Ponce. Because that's where they could find the truth hidden by the facts and simple listing of events. That's where they found the heart and emotion of what happened. That's where they found Sam.  
  
===================  
  
"Hey guys, what are you doing?" Major Sam Carter limped into the room and three men turned thoughtful faces at her.  
  
"Just reading through your reports, Carter," Jack replied and then continued, "Very thorough… really like the bullet points, too…," he finished with a cocked brow and a quirky grin.  
  
"Thank you, sir, I know how much you need to get your quota of bullet points and details," she replied as she sat carefully in one of the chairs.  
  
"You know… Carter… they don't evaluate these reports by the pound," he pointed out with a slight whining tone to his voice… and received the grin and low giggles from her that was his goal.  
  
"Oh… sorry about that, sir, I was just making sure that I didn't leave anything out…," she winked at the other two men. "Although, I have to admit that I had to get a lot of the dates and other such facts and figures from the reports filed by others…"  
  
He nodded at her… she rarely had to look at anyone else's reports for such information. "I think we can overlook it in this one instance, Carter," he pretended to take this seriously and she rolled her eyes at him.   
  
"Thank you, sir," she said and returned his mock-seriousness.  
  
And then silence descended over the room for a few seconds and Sam started to look uncomfortable as she realized that all three men were simply staring at her. "Errr… guys… what?"  
  
None of them responded. They just kept staring at her and she was almost starting to squirm. She winced and looked at one and then the other. The all met her gaze square on, but none of them said a word. She raised her eyebrows and looked down at the table. She could almost hear the Stargate getting older through the eons….  
  
And, just when she thought that she was going to implode, Teal'c stood up and walked over to her. "Teal'c…?" she asked and it sounded weak to her own ears.  
  
The Jaffa simply held his arm out and it was obvious that he wanted her to get up. Taking his arm, she allowed him to help her lever herself into a standing position. Then he just stood there for a few seconds… studying her… a few looooong seconds… and just when she was about to open her mouth to ask him 'What?' he pulled her forward and enveloped her in a crushing hug.  
  
"Oooofff…," was all she could get out as he squeezed the wind out of her.  
  
"SamanthaCarter, we all care for you deeply," he hadn't let go of her and she could feel the vibrations of his speech through his chest, "We will be most displeased if you continue in any such behavior that includes additional whumping to your person," and he released her and stepped back.  
  
She stood there. Stunned and speechless.  
Teal'c rarely stated these types of sentiments.  
And he'd thrown in whumping….  
  
She studied his usually impassive face… and she could see the love… and the twinkle in his eyes… as he enjoyed himself and his own humor. She smiled back softly and leaned forward and kissed him chastely on the cheek. "Thank you… and I'll try and watch myself," she promised. He nodded and gave her a small smile. Just a small one, but on his face it looked like a headlight.  
  
"My turn," Daniel announced and spun her a little to face him and then crushed her in his own fierce hug. He didn't say anything until he was done and when he pulled away, she could see tears streaming down his face. "Sam, we love you… just… you know… stay around for us?"  
  
Her eyes shining with her own tears now, she hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the cheek, too. "Daniel, you guys mean more to me than anything else. I promise to try and stay out of trouble… if you will…?" and she reminded him of their conversation weeks ago in the infirmary. He nodded at her and gave her a return kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Carrrterrr…?" he said it right over her left shoulder and she felt a shiver run through her.   
  
His hand gently turned her to face him and she looked up at him and swallowed. Jack grinned at her and her heart melted, again. He pulled her to him and hugged her tightly and she hugged him back. He gave her another squeeze and then stepped away. "We…uhmmm… missed you…," and he gestured at the three of them. "A lot," he added and then had to let it stay there. He could go no further. Not here. Not now.  
  
She looked up at him, her cheeks pink with emotions… love… embarrassment… "Thank you, sir," she managed.  
  
"So… Carter…. you know… another reason that we don't want you to go out and get yourself killed?" Jack decided to let some of the intensity out of the room.  
  
She looked at him warily, "You need the gate overhauled every now and then?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"No…. it's just that Captain Heidall told us that you asked him to give us all a hug… from you… when you thought that you were as good as dead…," and he lifted his eyebrows in askance. She looked around and saw that Daniel was looking at her with a small grin while Teal'c mask of impassiveness was back in place.  
  
"Well… it seemed like a good idea at the time… he needed something to laugh at… and I think he thought it was funny… a little anyway… the idea of trying to give the Big Bad Colonel O'Neill a hug… and then he didn't even seem to think that Teal'c would let him get close…," she tried to explain.  
  
"SamanthaCarter, I have informed Captain Heidall that if such circumstances had come to pass, that not only would I have allowed him to pass your hug along, I would have expected it," the Jaffa intoned with his deep voice and she looked at him in surprise and then thought of the poor Captain's reaction to that.  
  
"Oh, yeah, Carter, the poor Captain looked like he was about to have a coronary… and at his young age," Jack chuckled and grinned at the memory.  
  
Sam looked back at Teal'c… and saw that glint again, "Teal'c! You said that to him just to torture that young man!" she accused, but couldn't keep the grin off of her face.  
  
"Perhaps…," the Jaffa admitted, "but I was also speaking the truth. If a hug was the last thing that you sent to me, then I would expect it to be delivered," and he allowed the affection to show on his face and she smiled softly back at him again.  
  
Turning back to all three of them… "So, that's what all this hugging was about? What I said to Captain Heidall?" she asked, still grinning.  
  
"Well, yes," Daniel admitted, "That provided the impetus or the excuse…," and he hugged her gently again.  
  
"Well, how about some dinner?" Jack asked and looked at the members of his team. "We need to feed one skinny Major… who needs to regain a bit of fighting weight before one Doc Frasier will release her for gate travel in the future…," he continued.  
  
She rolled her eyes as the conversation drifted off into a discussion of what type of food and where they should go. Watching the men negotiate…or argue… she realized… that it was good to be home.   
  
So very good to be home.  
  
.  
  
====o0o==== The End ====o0o====  
  
.  
  
I hope that you enjoyed my story and I want to thank everyone who sent positive reviews. I can't thank you enough. This story took me months to struggle with. Your words of encouragement made all of the difference.  
  
Again, all of my thanks to all of the other Stargate fanfic writers out there. And, thanks again to Heliopolis, Gateworld.net, Fanfiction.net, The Stargate Novel Archive and all other Stargate SG1 fanfiction websites.  
  
If you like Carter fic or Sam/Jack fanfic, you might like  
'Dancing With An Angel' or  
'Come Fly With Me' or  
'A Beautiful Mind' or  
'Nine' or   
'Who's An Angel?' or  
'What Doesn't Kill You' or  
'The Zen of Dancing'  
  
If anyone is interested in the trilogy that I cited in 'What Doesn't Kill You,' the trilogy is 'Universal Beat' by Aeddey and can be found at The Stargate Novel Archive.

I highly recommend 'Night Sky' by Joolz at www.geocities.com/joolz4me/NightSky.htm


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